Echoes
by MaidenMoonshine
Summary: Ziva's life has been ruled by echoing cruel deeds and words from her past. But one can only handle so much before they break. When Ziva breaks will her co-workers at NCIS be able to convince her that they want to be the family that she so desperately needs? Will Gibbs and Jenny be able to help her? Warnings: will contain heavy subject matter and spanking as discipline of adults.
1. Chapter 1 - What Makes an Echo

Echoes.

Repetitions. Altered just enough to come back with a different tone, often more haunting than before.

Echoes can be welcome when something good is the cause of the reverberation. Etheral tones reply, blessing the patiently waiting journeyer.

But ugliness, thrown out into the world with a booming voice? It can grow in its impact, becoming sharper and more dangerous through its travels back to the one standing at the maw of the cavern.

Echoes can echo, repeating the cycle. At least they can until time or distance kills the sound. Or interference. Interference - something to absorb the echo - can stop it as well.

Ziva David's life was filled with echoes. No, she would not have thought so, but that was the way it was. Words thrown out carelessly years ago still reverberated through her active mind, cruel deeds still repeated themselves through the cycle of hard living that she had come to accept and expect. She had gotten caught in the soundwaves and now she herself was conducting the echoes that tormented her day and night.

Time had passed.

Distance had been provided.

Still the echoes haunted her.

But unknown to Ziva, interference was about to rescue her.

Whether or not she would allow herself to be physically rescued was questionable but it would be achieved with or without her cooperation. Whether or not she would let her soul be doctored was another issue altogether.

The echoes did not know that their time was nearing an end so they continued their torture.

The two people who cared for Ziva the most were patiently biding their time for the moment to intervene.

...

**Yay! The new story for the summer is started! I will be trying to post one long chapter each week. In your comments please vote for which day you would like to see the chapter posted! **


	2. Chapter 2 - The Start of It All

**Yay! I'm back! It has been a week and now you get a long chapter. Do you like this set-up or would two smaller chapters a week be easier? **

**Thanks to the reviewers! Troubled-Angel-26, sherryola, NCISJunkie79, Fashionista-girl, LT, Guest, Hippiechic81, Mindless Creation, KrisShannon, and Tamara - thanks! This has been an encouraging response to a first teaser chapter! I hope that you all like this chapter as much! I think that it will include a few surprises for everyone! **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal who proofread! **

**Have a wonderful weekend!**

**...**

If Ziva had chosen to wear her burgundy top that morning perhaps nothing would have happened. But that sunny morning she decided to wear her white blouse. That one choice set in motion the sequence of events that would dramatically change how she interacted with her team at work.

Over the next few weeks Ziva would look back at that ordinary Wednesday morning and mutter and mumble about her choice of a shirt.

But the next few weeks after that? Despite small bursts of her temper that caused some self-protective anger at those who had taken away her control and independence, Ziva would come to be, for the most part, grateful for her wardrobe selection.

After choosing her shirt and heading to work, the next main part of her story was the arrest that she and Tony carried out right around noon. It was then that crazy William Potter took off running, hotly pursued on foot by Ziva while Tony ran to the car to tag team her by cutting off William's escape. Ziva tackled the man and it was then that she discovered that he had a knife. Her blouse had ridden up a bit during the chase and she felt the sharp nipping bit of the blade against her bare skin.

_How dare he try to hurt me! _

A surge of strength assisted her in removing the knife and deftly incapacitating him.

Her anger bordered on uncontrollable but she managed not to kill William, instead handing off the arrest to Tony once he arrived on scene. Tony asked the typical "You okay?" and Ziva responded with an affirmative and the three were off to NCIS. Tony's focus was on what he wanted for lunch once he got a chance to go buy it after delivering William to custody. With her partner so distracted it was not too difficult for Ziva to stuff some spare napkins against the cut. It helped slow the bleeding a little. She grabbed another napkin and wet it with a discarded bottle of water on the floor. She used it to remove the few specks of blood that had touched the hem of her top before she was able to grab it away from her side once Tony arrived.

Once they arrived at NCIS, Ziva excused herself and rushed to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and lifted her shirt to assess the damage.

_Not too bad. Deeper than I thought but not the worst I have had by long. _

Grabbing a first aid kit conveniently stashed in the bathroom Ziva tied a sloppy bandage around her stomach. It was no doctor's job but perhaps it could stop the slow bleed. Ideally, yes, a doctor should have treated it immediately. There was no reason that she could not go to Ducky.

_Except ... _

It was a big "except".

There were too many stories that Ziva did not want to share from her past life. Too many hurts. In sharing those hurts with those who knew her now she would have to become vulnerable. And Ziva hated being vulnerable far more than she hated bleeding.

Thus no Ducky, no help of any kind. Miss Independent Ziva would do just fine on her own.

_Like always. _

She could not stay long, so she hurriedly inspected her work, then pulled down her top and rushed to her desk. She knew that Gibbs would be expecting her report immediately.

"Where have you been?" Tony asked her. Ziva simply frowned and ignored him. She gave Gibbs what she hoped was an apologetic look as she settled on her desk to listen to his briefing.

It was a little hard to listen.

The knife cut was now beginning to really hurt as her adrenaline drained out of her body. A steady, stinging pulsing began. It was far from the most pain that she had suffered but it was hard to handle while standing in front of her teammates, unable to pant with the pulses of pain. Holding all her suffering inside seemed to intensify the pain.

_I hope that Gibbs does not talk more than he normally does. I need to find a quiet spot to rest away from people. _

Gibbs did not talk for long - it was Tony who held them up by sharing a few not-so-humourous stories. Ziva's pain was holding her attention so much that she was not aware of what was happening.

"Ziva!" Gibbs broke off Tony's storytelling. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked. She followed his gaze to her side where a growing crimson stain was marring the white fabric.

_Why could Tony not have told that story tomorrow instead of today?!_

"Oh, I am fine. It is only a small cut," she tried to assure him but Gibbs was having none of it.

"How bad?"

"It is barely a scrape."

For some reason the situation was making her uncomfortable. Not just a _Gibbs-will-not-be-happy-that-I-hid-this-from-him_ uncomfortable but a _why-is-my-chest-tightening?_ uncomfortable.

Tony frowned. "It doesn't look like 'barely a scrape'. It looks like Williams got you with that old knife he had."

Gibbs silenced Tony, stepping toward Ziva in concern. "Have you seen Ducky?"

_Ignore the feelings. Ignore all weakness. Stand up for yourself, David, stand up._

"No, for there was no need."

Gibbs did not agree.

"Ziva, you are hurt. You would not be bleeding if you were okay. Let me see."

_My chest is tightening. Why? What is happening to me? I cannot tell what is happening to my body. My heart is racing. _

_Ignore this weakness. Do not let it dominate you. You are strong. You must be strong. You are not allowed to be weak. Stand up!_

"No!"

Gibbs' eyes narrowed at being told "no" by his subordinate. Tim slightly gasped and Tony's eyes expanded to what seemed like twice the normal size. Both felt the phantom pain of the head slap Gibbs would deliver if they had responded in such a way. Even Abby would be rubbing some portion of her anatomy if she had dared to speak in that tone to Gibbs. But there stood Ziva - pale and bloody, yet defiant. The young men slowly backed away. This had nothing to do with them and they had no desire to be anything other than bystanders - and if there had been a nearby exit they would not have even been there for that.

Ziva could tell that Gibbs was seriously annoyed but she could not think of the words to apologize, to soften her declaration, to explain herself. She tried to back away, but only managed half a centimeter before bumping into her desk. A semicircle of concerned people - Gibbs, Tony, and Tim - were in front of her, blocking her escape.

Gibbs was deadly serious - "Ziva, let me see."

_I can barely move. _

_No, do not come near me. No, no, no..._

Gibbs, concerned, stepped forward. There was concern in his eyes, compassion in his voice, and love in his heart.

But that was not what Ziva saw.

All she saw was danger.

Perhaps it was the pain mixed with adrenaline from the earlier fight. Perhaps it was earlier traumas, long past, reasserting themselves. Perhaps it was the fault of an over-stressed body carrying far too many locked emotions for one heart to hold. Or perhaps her guardian angels - for surely she had more than one! - influenced the moment, knowing that the momentary issues for those in the situation would be far outweighed by the eventual good that could be achieved.

But for some reason, Ziva's body panicked and she did what she always did when she panicked - she fought.

Namely, she punched Gibbs in the face.

There was one second of pure shock.

Then there was one second of pure terror. The realization of what she had just done flashed through her overwhelmed body like a zap of electricity.

_I struck Gibbs!_

Gibbs was apparently also shocked. He had stumbled backward, disbelief showing on his usually guarded face. Tim and Tony had grabbed hold of him, supporting him as they looked at Ziva with a mixture of amazement and consternation in their faces.

Ziva took the third second Gibbs was off balance to react on her instincts once again - she ran for her life.

...

**Please review! What do you think is going to happen next? I love hearing your guesses! **


	3. Chapter 3 - Hide and Seek

**Thanks to all reviewers - KrisShannon, DS2010, NCISJunkie79, fiftyshadeswritergal, sherryola, and Troubled-Angel-26! Special thanks to KrisShannon and fiftyshadeswritergal for their help in proofreading. :D You guys are the best! **

**I hope that everyone enjoys! Remember to review! **

...

Ziva ran down the hallway, heart pounding and mind racing.

_Where can I hide? Where can I hide?!_

"Ziva! Stop!" she heard Tony yell from behind her but she refused to listen to her partner. How could she even know if he was her partner? Perhaps he was really an enemy. The echoes were deafening She blindly ran into the stair case and skipped steps as quickly as possible.

...

Back in the bullpen Gibbs straightened.

"She certainly has a strong arm," he noted, rubbing his jaw.

"You okay, Boss?" Tim asked.

"I'm fine. Worry about Ziva," Gibbs ordered. Tim nodded.

"Boss, she's running down the stairwell," Tony called, rushing back. "What's all that about? Why did she hit you?"

"Panic attack. I saw it in her eyes. Something snapped when I stepped toward her. It scared her." He pointed to the stairway. "What are you two waiting for? We need to find her. She can't be alone in the middle of an attack like that, especially when she's hurt."

"Going, Boss!" Tim replied.

"Wait. Ziva's really close to the director. Maybe Jenny could help?" Tony suggested. "I could go tell her."

"Good idea. Tim, go to Jenny. Tony, you and I will look for her. Call Duck too."

"Why am I the one telling the director?" Tim asked.

"You're more diplomatic than Tony or me. Now, everyone, go! We've got to find that girl."

...

Ziva ducked into an empty room, trying to figure out where she could go to hide. She had no doubt that within minutes Gibbs would be chasing her down, ready to either punch her back to Israel or kill her for hitting him. She gasped again and again. The panic was increasing the pain from her wound.

_Where can I go? Ducky? He is a safe person. He would not hurt me. But I cannot go there. Gibbs will be sure to check there and if he found me I do not know what he would do. And Ducky would want to fix my cut but I cannot let him. I do not want him to know. _

_Jenny? She would protect me - I think. But she may be angry that I struck Gibbs. Besides, I would have to go past the bullpen to go to her and then Gibbs would see me. _

_They will check with Abby. I know that they will. I cannot go there either. _

_I am all alone! _

"Ziva!" a voice echoed from far down the hall. Ziva froze, then crept to the door and carefully looked around. Tony was at the end of the hall. He disappeared into one room, calling her name. She took the opportunity to dash out into the vacant hall and continue running.

...

"So where was she heading?" Jenny Shepard asked Tim as she hurried out of her office.

"She headed downstairs, I think," Tim said, jogging behind her quick strides.

"She's bleeding?"

"Yes. Tony says that he thinks she was cut by the knife the suspect had when he was arrested."

"It must not have been too serious, but it looked like maybe she had small cut that had been leading long enough to stain her shirt quite a bit."

"How long ago was the arrest?"

Tim glanced at his watch as they hurried down the hall, looking around for their missing little assassin. "Half an hour, maybe? I wasn't there. Tony was with her and he didn't notice anything was wrong until Gibbs pointed out the stain on her shirt five minutes ago."

"I hope it isn't bad," Jenny worried. "I have a hard time understanding why she did not get help if she was feeling so badly."

"Gibbs thinks that she is having a panic attack. Could that have affected how she was thinking?"

"Maybe." Jenny spun around in the hallway. "Ziva. Ziva! Dear, where are you?"

...

Ziva rushed past Abby's lab and found a closet - this one far away from the grumpy janitor's closet that she had used for refuge nearly a year ago. She normally would not take a hiding spot, preferring to take up an offensive position. Normally she preferred to fight rather than flee. But today? She was afraid. She could not pin down an exact reason for her fear but gone were her nerves of steel. If she entered a fight now she would have no control, resulting in either being killed or killing her opponent. She would do what she could to avoid engaging.

She gained the hiding spot just in time - Tony was on her trail. He entered Abby's lab two minutes later. Ziva listened to their conversation.

Tony!" Abby cheered. "Wait, what's the matter?"

"Abs, have you seen Ziva?" Tony puffed between breaths.

"No, not since first thing this morning when we came in at the same time. Why? Wait, something's wrong. Ziva's gone? Ziva's hurt? Ziva's sick? Should I go to the hospital? What unit? Why aren't you with her?"

"Stop, Abby! Stop!"

"Just tell me, Tony!"

"Ziva seems to be having a panic attack. She's bleeding and she freaked out."

"How did she freak out?"

"Hit Gibbs before running away. He says that her eyes were glazed over and she was frightened."

"Oh, poor Ziva!" Abby gasped.

"Now we have to find her."

"How can I help?" Abby asked eagerly.

Ziva frowned slightly in her hiding spot. Why the concern? She had just attacked their team leader - who everyone adored - and yet they sounded ... worried? A new type of pain began squeezing around her heart. To distract herself, she silently slipped out of her hiding spot while Abby and Tony planned a search party for her. She was accompanied by the accusations in her mind.

...

Gibbs walked up the hallway. His team was scattered over the building, searching for Ziva, but Gibbs hoped that he would be the one to find her. He had a good feeling about this hallway. Secluded, quiet, plenty of hiding spots. He walked quietly past a few doors, then suddenly sat, leaning against the wall, next to one partially closed door.

"Oh, I hope that I can find that girl," he said aloud. "She must have been feeling pretty frightened to lash out like that. Totally understandable. I'd have done the same if I was in her shoes."

He sighed and shifted his position. "Yes, and that cut must be hurting a fair bit. I'm concerned about that. I know Duck would want to check it to see how he could help. He loves Ziva, always telling me about how her visits brighten his days. I know that he would be happy to get a chance to help her."

Gibbs leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "I don't know what the team will do if we can't find her. Tony has been searching everywhere. He even got Abby to help him. Tim and Jenny have been searching through the whole building. Tim was disappointed that she left behind her phone so that he could not help by tracking her. He's scared for her. I am too."

...

Ziva barely dared to breath. Gibbs was just outside of the room. He seemed to have stopped for a rest and he was talking to himself. His tone was soft and inviting. His words argued with the angry tones of the echoes in her head.

_No one wants you_, the echoes mocked.

_I want you_, declared Gibbs.

_You are a coward_, the echoes taunted.

_I understand_, soothed Gibbs.

_True warriors don't feel pain_, jabbed the echoes.

_I care about your pain_, countered Gibbs. _We all care. _

_You are weak to give in to fear. _

_I am afraid - for you. _

_You are WORTHLESS!_ screamed the echoes.

"You are precious to us, Ziva."

Ziva froze, her eyes growing huge as she processed that Gibbs was now talking directly to her. Her body was taut. She tried to think of an escape but there was no other way out than the door Gibbs was apparently guarding.

_He knows I'm in here and I can't get away! _

His voice was as comforting as if he was talking to a small child. "I don't want to scare you anymore, Ziver. That was a mistake earlier. I'm sorry."

_He __apologized __ \- to me?! _

_He doesn't sound like he is angry. Maybe ... maybe I could trust him? _

"I'm right here, Ziva. I want to help you. All of us want to help you. When you're ready to let us help, come on out, okay? I'll just stay out here for now."

Ziva leaned against the wall on her side. He was right. The pain from her wound was increasing, she was tired of being scared and alone, and she had no where else to go.

But could she trust him?

_Don't trust him! Don't trust anyone, especially someone who you just treated like an enemy!_ chanted the echoes.

"Jethro! Have you found her yet?" Jenny's voice reverberated in the hallway. Ziva could hear the familiar click of her heels.

Suddenly one memory echo returned. Its delicate power of maternal love drowned out all fears and doubts for a few seconds. Jenny reminded Ziva of those beautiful echoes. If Jenny trusted Gibbs right now, maybe she could as well.

...

**I hope that you enjoyed! Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Secrets and Scars

**Thanks to all the reviewers - Troubled-Angel-26, Hippiechic81, Tamara, DS2010, and Rhi. :D Special thanks to my advisory committee of one, Miss "Quinta" fiftyshadeswritergal. Be on the lookout - there will be a Fourth of July story "popping" out to add some "sparkle" to your lives that we "conspired" together. :D It will be a party, so make sure to join in starting on June 27th if all goes well! **

**Be forewarned - I am no medial field worker and if my details in this chapter are incorrect please forgive me (and let me know so that I can fix it!). **

**For now, please enjoy this next chapter of "Echoes". Poor Ziva - I hope that they can help her! **

**...**

"I just got a text from the Director. They found Ziva. She's in an empty storage room down the hall from the old interrogation room five," Tim alerted Tony and Abby who he had intersected paths with twenty seconds earlier.

"Is she okay?" Abby demanded.

"It doesn't say." Tim pushed his phone back into his pocket.

"What are we waiting for? Come on," Tony ordered. The three musketeers raced to the elevator, concerned for their injured friend. Another text buzzed on Tim's phone so he checked.

"Oh, they are saying to wait at the end of the hall. Ziva's still not talking to them yet."

...

Ziva let out he smallest whimper possible.

"Ziva, will you come out, darling?" Jenny requested.

Ziva squeezed her eyes closed tightly. The tiniest trace of a tear wet her eyelashes.

_I don't know what to do. I don't know._

There was quiet for a few minutes as Ziva struggled within herself.

_I just wish that someone else could take control. But ... but I do not know if I could trust anyone. _

A small rustle outside the door alerted Ziva to the fact that someone was entering the room. She jerked her head up and saw Jenny and Gibbs at the door frame.

...

Ziva's beautiful brown eyes were filled with fear, the pupils dilated. Her wild curls were sticking to her face from a mixture of sweat and tears. Jenny and Gibbs could see that her hands so tightly holding her legs to her chest were trembling wildly.

"Hey, Ziver," Gibbs spoke calmly, as if trying not to spook a wild animal.

Ziva let out a gasp.

Jenny cautiously took a step forward before crouching down a few feet away.

"Ziva, honey, can I come closer?"

Ziva jerked her head in a little nod. Jenny knelt down and very cautiously reached out to her. Ziva shivered and Jenny stopped reaching out, but remained holding out her hand.

"Okay, okay," Jenny repeated under her breath, creating a calming hum. She attempted to reach out again and this time Ziva permitted the touch.

Gibbs crouched down across from Ziva as well, leaving enough distance that whatever had set her off earlier would be manageable. He did not say a word, understanding better than anyone that the silence would be more comforting than a deluge of questions. He put aside his worry for his girl and focused on being totally calm. There would be time to fuss over her later. For now she would need someone to anchor off of and he might be able to give her that gift to compensate for scaring her earlier.

There it was - her eyes locked with his. Gibbs focused his hardest on remaining solid and calm, trying to convey with only his eyes his boundless love and compassion for this dear girl.

He must have been able to communicate something. Her eyes focused on him, the tenseness of her face relaxed. She let out a long breath, then slowly closed her eyes. Half a minute later she slowly slumped forward.

"Jen!"

"Got her," Jenny replied, cradling Ziva in her arms. "Get Ducky."

...

"How long has she been out?" Ducky asked, entering the room followed closely by an anxious Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"Two minutes," Jenny responded quickly. "She's been mumbling some stuff under her breath but it does not make any sense. Is she okay, Ducky?"

Ducky quickly checked her vitals, then smiled with relief.

"She did not faint. She just fell asleep."

"Asleep?"

"Look at the dark circles under her eyes. She has not been sleeping well for the last two weeks, at the very least. I meant to address that with her today. With all of the running and strenuous exercise today, besides the obvious emotional turmoil, it is no wonder that she would fall asleep. From the sounds of it she has had a difficult morning."

"She's ... sleeping?"

"Listen to her - she's starting to snore. She's relaxed, her vitals are fine. It sounds like she was just falling asleep and slurring her words while trying to talk to you. Trust me, Director, she is fine."

"But what about the bleeding?" Gibbs insisted,

"Oh, she has been bleeding but nothing too dangerous. I will know better when I see it, but there is not enough blood after this amount of time to truly worry me. But even so, why would she not come see me?" he asked, slowly lifting the hem of Ziva's blouse to reveal the cut.

"Oh, it looks like she tried to bandage it on her own. I'll just unwrap this. Definitely a knife wound, but shallow and more of a deep scratch that a cut. That is good for her ... oh. Oh dear."

"What?!" Jenny and Gibbs demanded in unison.

"I believe that I might know the reason why she did not want me to treat her."

"Why?"

Ducky swallowed hard before answering.

"All over her stomach there are scars."

...

"Did he say scars?" Abby whispered to the guys as all three stood pressed against the wall, trying to hear any sound from inside. There was no way that they were staying at the end of the hall when Gibbs ran past with Ducky with a single hand motion. As Abby had argued, perhaps it was a "come" motion rather than "stay".

Tim gulped and turned pale. Tony placed his arm around a teary-eyed, horrified Abby before responding in a muted voice, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he did."

...

Jenny and Gibbs leaned forward to look at the marks Ducky was clearing from blood streaks. The tiny crisscross marks - some old and barely noticeable, some fresher and still in stages of pink from a year ago - marred Ziva's delicate skin, telling the stories that she had been so desperate to hide. Horror crossed Jenny's face, righteous anger filled Gibbs'.

Ziva, her exhausted body finally have enough strength to allow her to awaken, saw their faces immediately as she blinked her heavy eyelids. Even half-dead with exhaustion, she could tell that they had discovered part of her secret.

"No!" she tried to yell, but it came out as more of a squeak. She fought against the kind hands attempting to restrain her. Her inner fiery personality aided her to her feet.

"Ziva, dear, let me fix your cut," Ducky tried to reason.

"No!" she shouted, this time managing to actually make noise. "You ... you ...!"

"We are trying to help you," Ducky told her, holding Gibbs and Jenny back with a motion of his hand. If anyone could reach through Ziva's frenzied thinking, it should be the doctor.

Unfortunately, nothing would get through to Ziva.

"What did you want to see?" she yelled angrily, betrayal thick in her voice. She fumbled with her buttons. "So you wanted to see my injuries?" she accused. Her impatience with the buttons ran out just as Abby, Tony, and Tim peeked around the door. She tore her shirt, sending the buttons skittering to the floor. Everyone froze. Many were the marks on her body, crisscrossing her chest and her stomach. She turned, exposing her back. Even Tony payed no attention to the fact that Ziva was topless. There was nothing alluring about the pain emanating from her eyes. All that anyone could see was a thousand pains and crimes against such a young woman.

"There!" she sobbed. "There are all my secrets. Are you satisfied?"

And with that, she collapsed.

Ducky, being the nearest, caught her.

"She has most definitely fainted this time. Someone call an ambulance!"

...

**Please review! What do you think will happen?!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Hospital Visit

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed since the last chapter went up - Hippiechic81, DS2010, Troubled-Angel-26, Guest, Fan, and another Guest! Sorry for the long wait - "The July Jamboree" was my main focus for a bit, but it does feel really good to be back with Ziva again! This chapter was proofread by KrisShannon and fiftyshadeswritergal (both wonderful writers!) - thanks you two! **

**This chapter is a little shorter than normal, but I'll try to make up for it later on in the story! **

**Enjoy!**

**...**

Ziva slowly blinked. Her vision cleared but her mind remained foggy.

"Ah, my dear! How are you feeling?" Ducky said with a forced cheerfulness that immediately placed her on edge.

"What are you doing to me?" she accused, trying to sit up while already swiping at the iv in her arm. She could not remember it going in, she was not dying, and thus it did not belong.

"Hey! Hold it!" a paramedic shouted, coming over and pushing her hand away. Ziva stiffened. She hated being touched in any way that suggested restraint.

"Let - go - of - me!" she grunted, pushing the paramedic with enough force, even in her compromised state, that the man stumbled backward - right into Gibbs and the director. She froze at the stern, yet _concerned_, looks from both of them. She was still unsure exactly why they were looking at her in that way, but it was unsettling.

"Move back," Ducky ordered the paramedics. The two partners exchanged glances then backed off slowly. Ducky approached Ziva, maintaining eye contact and lifting his hands in a non-threatening manner. "Calm down, Ziva. You have had a difficult day. Would you allow me to check your vitals?"

Ziva nodded slowly. Ducky began to work on her. The puzzle pieces in her memory were starting to come together.

"Ducky?"

"Yes?" he replied to the whisper.

"I punched Gibbs?"

"The _last_ thing that you did was faint."

"I punched Gibbs!"

"Well, yes, you did do that earlier."

"I ... I ...!"

"But it really was not the worst punch Jethro has received."

"But ...!"

Ducky gently cupped her face in his hands.

"Focus on me, Ziva. Yes, there was an accident earlier but no one cares about that anymore. Look at Gibbs, my dear girl. That expression is one of concern - _love_ \- for you. There is no room in his heart for anger. Now, let me check the dilation of your pupils."

...

They took her to the hospital anyway, everyone _except_ for Ziva insisting that a check-up would set their minds at ease. The nurses completed cleaning the wound which had been ignored in the concern of helping Ziva regain consciousness. Then Ziva was forced to submit to several tests - some of which she protested readily until a stern glare from Jenny made her change her mind.

Finally she was left alone in the sterile room on a bumpy hospital bed while the doctor, nurse, director, Ducky, and Gibbs all talked about her outside. She tried to get up to sneak over to the doorway to listen in on the conversation, but before she could take three steps Gibbs stepped into the room, walked over, and scooped her easily back in bed within twenty seconds.

"Stay."

He was gone immediately, trusting her to obey.

Ziva sighed. She crossed her arms. She scowled. She wiggled down on the bed. But she stayed. Really, she was too tired for anything else. Whatever had broken inside of her earlier had left her feeling empty and exhausted.

...

Outside of the hospital room, a small conference was taking place.

"I believe, like you said, she simply had a panic attack triggered by the pain she was experiencing after such an exerting mission - are they called missions? - this morning," the doctor told them.

"Will she be okay?" Gibbs demanded.

"Yes," the doctor affirmed with a smile.

"What about her psychological state?" Ducky asked.

The doctor shrugged. "You say that she had a serious panic attack before fainting?" Everyone nodded. "If this is a one-time occurrence I would think that she would be okay. Obviously, she needs time to recover. But sometimes the brain can be triggered in ways that we in the medical field still cannot understand. Experiencing pain and disorientating from the subsequent weakness may explain the attack. Just to cover any issues, however, I would recommend that she speak to a therapist to help her sort out any underlying issues.

"We will make sure that she gets that," Jenny confirmed, exchanging a nod with Ducky.

"Can she go home now?" Gibbs asked.

"As her vitals are good and she seems to have recovered her full consciousness along with passing all tests that we have given her, I feel confident letting her leave. But I don't want her to be alone for the next few days in case there are any issues, in which case bring her back here immediately."

"Understood," Jenny replied.

"She won't be alone for the next few weeks," Gibbs assured the doctor with a firm handshake. "I'll take her home with me. We'll take good care of her."

The doctor smiled at the motley crew in front of him.

"I'm sure that you will," he said with a chuckle. "I wish all my patients had such concerned loved ones."

Ducky, Gibbs, and Jenny exchanged a look.

"I am glad that we are here," Ducky stated. Both Jenny and Gibbs agreed. Together the three of them turned to the room where the unsuspecting Ziva was about to be surprised with the fact that she was about to become a Gibblet.

...

**What did you think? What will Ziva think? Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6 - Moving In

**Hi, everyone! I was away for the weekend so this has taken me a little longer than normal to write. However, I am trying to get back on track and I hope that you are able to enjoy the result. Thanks to my proofreaders, KrisShannon and fiftyshadeswritergal. Also I extend my thanks to the readers and reviewers (a rare and highly coveted breed!) - Troubled-Angel-26, fiftyshadeswritergal, DS2010, NCISJunkie79, KrisShannon, Rhi, Guest (Ziva won't be fired so if that is what you want to see, you should probably find another story), Dalm (you're new but very active in commenting - thank you!), and charmed princess izmadi (I believe that you are new as well, so welcome!). A, I'm not sure if you will read this but you had previously mentioned that you wanted to know if I would accept a writing prompt from you. Definitely! I can't promise to use it but it never hurts to have more imagination fodder! I am currently focusing a lot on my NaNoWriMo Camp goals of editing, but I will still try to keep writing on this website! **

**Speaking of prompt stories, I need to ask a question - who was it who once posted that they would like to see a story where Abby revoked Gibbs' right to discipline her because she did not want to face the consequences? That idea recently came to mind and I am working it into a story that is in the works. I would love to credit you in the opening, so if that prompt came from you, please comment! **

**Okay, I believe that I am caught up with everything that I needed to do. Enjoy! **

**...**

"Which room?" Ducky asked, standing at the top of the stairs while Gibbs followed with a sleeping Ziva in his arms.

"Oh, mine," Gibbs sighed, looking at the stuffed bats hanging from the ceiling in his guest room. Glow-in-the-dark skeleton stickers surrounded the window and a bejeweled skull sat on the dresser. Various costume pieces were strewn across the bed from Abby's last wild dash to a party after her latest grounding was lifted. "Abby's style might scare her."

"Good thinking," Ducky agreed, raising an eyebrow at Abby's decorations.

Gibbs gestured toward the bed. "Anyway, I changed the sheets this morning. She can stay here for the night and I'll get Abby to clean up in there by tomorrow."

"Here, let me move the sheets and you can lay her down. Now, take off her shoes and we will let her rest," Ducky directed. "The painkiller she was given should make her quite drowsy. She should sleep for awhile."

"I'll stay with her," Gibbs said. His statement was given with finality. He carefully tucked the blankets around the girl, then took a box off of a chair next to the door and took a seat by Ziva's side.

...

"Where is she?" Jenny asked anxiously. Ducky noticed how she rushed into the house, hair streaming behind her, eyes wide, breath short.

_Yes, our Ziva has had a good effect on our Miss Shepard_, he noted, pleased to see the genuine care radiating from the director's face.

"Ducky, where is she?"

"Calm down, Jenny. She is in Jethro's room" - he put out his hand to stop her dash for the stairs - "fast asleep. It would be best for her not to be disturbed. Jethro is with her. She will be fine."

"Thank you," she noted, then rushed past anyway. Ducky just sighed and went to the kitchen.

If he was going to be dealing with an over-tired, hurting assassin who was in the middle of an emotional breakdown, he was going to need some tea. Especially if the two "mature" adults in the situation were going to insist on monitoring every move the dear girl made in her fitful sleep.

...

For the second time that day, Ziva woke to a surprise.

"Where am I?" she demanded. At least she tried to demand. It was a little hard to sound commanding under a pile of blankets with medication making her so drowsy, but she tried.

"My house," Gibbs answered from the doorway. He leaned out and called down the hall. "Ducky, she's awake!"

"I don't want him," Ziva mumbled. She hated having doctors fuss over her, even the gentle ME.

"Too bad. You're getting him," another voice said next to her.

"Jenny?" Ziva slowly eased herself so she could look to the side. Her wound protested but Ziva ignored it. "Jenny! What are you doing here?"

"Roll back over. Don't put pressure on your side," Jenny gently directed as she helped Ziva adjust. "And of course I am here, Zi. I came as soon as I could."

"But you must be busy," Ziva protested with a small cough, struggling to sit up although Jenny immediately pushed her back down into the pillows.

"Do not think like that, Ziva," Jenny scolded lovingly. "There is nothing urgent apart from you. Now relax, sweetheart, and let Ducky look at you."

"I see that you are awake," Ducky's distinctive voice said. He came around the bed to Ziva's line of sight. "How are you?"

Ziva frowned. "I am fine. I do not need a doctor."

"Stop talking, Ziva, and let Ducky check you!" Gibbs barked, his relief at her waking mixing with his fear for her safety earlier. Both he and Jenny were on edge and Ducky could tell.

"Jethro, perhaps you would be so kind as to go get a bottle of ginger ale for Ziva?"

Gibbs nodded. "I don't have any here, but I'll go pick some up at the corner store. Listen to Duck, Ziva, and I'll be right back."

Gibbs was gone before Ducky could continue.

"That would be wonderful. And, Jenny ..."

"I will wait outside. If either of you need me, just call," Jenny replied with a bemused smile. She understood what Ducky was doing. He gave her a relieved smile as she stepped out, allowing him privacy with Ziva. As she was leaving, Jenny leaned forward and whispered to the ME, "If she gets too stubborn, Ducky, let me know. I CAN get her to listen."

Ducky smiled and nodded to her, then turned back to Ziva. Upon seeing Jenny leave the room Ziva folded her arms - despite the complaints of her side - and rebelliously glared at Ducky.

"I do NOT need you!"

"Of course not," he soothed, taking her wrist and beginning to take her pulse anyway. "How is your head?"

Ziva frowned and pulled her wrist away. "I am fine!" she protested readily. Really, she was. There was not much blood and not much pain. She had suffered worse at the hand of "friends" than she had of that "foe". She would survive. There was no need for this fuss.

But then again, she had not felt like she did inside for years. It was almost as if the feelings of when she was younger had been unlocked. She felt as unsteady as a sloshing snow globe. Her world was spinning and she was angry. If fighting against Ducky - no matter how much she adored the elderly man - was the only way to get back to her "normal", she would do it.

"Now, Ziva, I certainly hope that you do feel better, but I need to check if that is the truth on a medical level."

Ducky took her wrist again and Ziva immediately yanked it away.

"Ziva," he said in the slightest reproachful manner while still sounding loving. "You have to let me do this."

"No!" she grunted. "I am fine. I have always been fine. I never need anyone."

"Maybe not before, because perhaps no one ever taught you the importance of needing others, but that is changing now."

"I do not need change." She muttered it rebelliously at the duvet. She could not look at Ducky and speak in such a tone, but oh! how she wanted to do so!

Ducky took her wrist again.

"I do not want change!" Ziva yelled. It felt good to be noisy, to be in control vocally. If she could get others to engage in a verbal fight she might be able to regain some control, to protect her reputation.

She jerked away, turning in on herself creating a bump under the covers. Ducky sighed.

"Shall I get Jenny?"

"I do not want her either!"

"But it sounds like you need me," Jenny said sternly, coming to Ziva's side. "Now, are we going to do this the hard way or the easy way?"

...

**And until next time ... please review! **


	7. Chapter 7 - Jenny Takes Charge

**It's a new week and here is a new chapter to celebrate! Thanks to KrisShannon and fiftyshadeswritergal who helped me edit. :D And thanks to all the reviewers since the last chapter - AmyV24 (don't worry - she does!), Troubled-Angel-26, DS2010, NCISJunkie79 (;D), Guest, Dalm, fiftyshadeswritergal, Greatcorals23, Fan, KrisShannon, Dawn248, and Ludy! **

**Keep your eyes open for another prompt story sometime this week. There may be one with several chapters coming up too! ;D You know, just maybe! **

**Enjoy! **

**...**

Gibbs entered the house, arms full of bottled ginger ale which he nearly dropped when he heard the indignant yelps and muffled smacks from upstairs.

"Duck, what's going on?" he demanded.

Ducky shrugged helplessly.

"Have you ever know Miss David to take the easy, obedient way?"

Gibbs did not know whether to be annoyed at Ziva for her apparent rebellion or be amused at Jen's parenting techniques. As being annoyed at Ziva was going to do nothing positive to help remedy the delicate situation that they all found themselves involved in, he chose amusement.

There was a low murmur of voices, a few dramatic yelps from Ziva following firm smacks, and then Jenny was calling down the stairs, "Ducky, Ziva is ready for you to check her."

"That is my cue," he told Gibbs, standing and hurrying upstairs.

...

Ziva's cheeks were burning with shame but she was too shocked to actually voice any protests. Jenny had reached over and given her several firm spanks on the bottom of her sweatpants. Although the swats had been very gentle compared to others that Ziva had received as correction from the red-headed mother figure, Ziva was still surprised by the swift application. Jenny had not spanked her for such a long time (in Ziva's mind) that obviously Ziva had outgrown that form of discipline (once again, in Ziva's mind). She had been unpleasantly surprised with a stinging reminder that Jenny always meant what she said - and that "you'd better listen or you won't like the consequences" was not an idle threat anymore. It had not hurt as much as she had worried that it would. As Jenny said with the last swat, "This is just a little reminder for you to obey."

Too bad that Ziva hated being reminded to obey.

No, the spanks had not really hurt but the fact that she had been chastised did. The fact that her friend Jenny had sided against her with Ducky and ... urg! ... Gibbs was the most bitter part of all.

Ziva's head ached too much for her to think through anything. Her thoughts were short and simple, but the sweetness was lacking.

_Jenny is so mean now!_

_Gibbs is mean too - even meaner than Jenny. He made me come here and that is why Jenny spanked me. _

_I do not like Gibbs - he made Jenny mean!_

_Ducky must be mean too because he let them put needles in me. _

_I do not want mean Ducky around me!_

"I do not like you!" Ziva grumbled aloud, turning away from Jenny.

The quiet sigh and chuckle, followed by "That's fine, Ziva," from Jenny did nothing to soothe the ruffled assassin's mood.

Ducky entered the room at that moment and looked between the two. The tension was obvious but he dove bravely into his work.

"Would I be able to check your vitals, Ziva?" he asked, tactfully leaving out the "now".

"Only if SHE leaves!" the hump in the bed decreed grumpily.

Jenny was about to react but Ducky quickly motioned for her to stay quiet.

"Perhaps if it is phrased nicely, she would give us some privacy. Jenny, if you would?"

"Certainly," she responded slowly, raising her eyebrow. Ducky smiled reassuringly.

"I am sure that Miss David and I will be able to complete the examination quite easily. Will we not, my dear?"

"Only if she goes away!" Ziva grumbled.

Jenny clenched her teeth but with Ducky's silent directions, she left the room.

Ducky walked over and gently took Ziva's wrist.

"Now, how does your head feel?"

...

Jenny nearly ran into Gibbs at the foot of the stairs.

"Oh, Jethro, you're back."

"Yes." He gestured toward Ziva's room. "She giving you trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Jenny answered briskly.

"I heard," he replied with an amused smile.

Jenny flushed a little. "She needed to let Ducky examine her and she wouldn't let him. I couldn't stand by and let her risk her health."

Gibbs continued to smile at her.

"What?" Jenny demanded, annoyed.

"I thought that you once said that you would never use corporal punishment."

Jenny raised her eyebrows. "You're questioning my methods?"

Gibbs chuckled. "Oh, I'm not questioning - I know exactly how effective those methods are. I just never imagined you spanking the little spitfire."

Jenny shrugged. "Someone had to. Conventional methods had very little effect on her. Trust me - I tried!"

"How long have you been watching out for her?" Gibbs asked, genuinely interested.

Jenny tiredly rubbed her temple. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe five or more years? It was back in Europe when I first met her. She was a bright girl, very talented for someone so young. I was told that she was twenty-years-old and had already served with the Israeli army. She had wonderful shooting skills. Despite her driving - which has not improved - I was grateful to have such a partner."

"But?" Gibbs prodded.

Jenny sighed. "I knew that her mother passed away and it was obvious in her actions that there had not been much of a woman's influence in her life. I tried to balance her but she was definitely tricky."

Gibbs grinned. "She most certainly is."

Jenny sighed and took a seat on the sofa, obviously exhausted.

"Do you want a drink?" Gibbs offered. Jenny shook her head.

"No, I'm fine."

Gibbs took a seat next to her. "And then what happened?"

"And then, after a dangerous arrest where she disobeyed direct orders and nearly got killed half a dozen times, on the way back to the hotel she asked what day it was. I told her the date between clenched teeth and she responded, 'Then today I am eighteen.' I took her back to the hotel and left her in the room while I went and calmed down."

"You - calming down?"

Jenny smiled. "I ... learned some things over the years. Anyway, when I came back I talked to her and then I gave her a spanking for pulling such a dangerous stunt. I felt like it was either try to teach her then or ruin our nation's relationship with Israel by reporting the truth. I hated having to overlook the fact that Director David had just willingly risked his own child daughter's life, but it had to be done."

"Politics," Gibbs growled.

Jenny continued, "By that point Ziva and I had been working together for six months and she trusted me enough to let me discipline her - although she most definitely did not like it! But I could not fully blame her for her actions - Director David was proud of how his daughter had helped bring down international terrorists before she was even legally an adult. It took all of my willpower, but I did not do anything to him. I had to keep a door open for protecting Ziva. That is why I brought her here, Jethro. A man who would risk the safety of a child ..." Her voice broke and she covered her face with her hands. "My poor Ziva!"

"Our poor Ziva," Gibbs corrected, pulling Jenny into a gentle hug. "But you did it - you got her to safety. And now we'll take care of her health too."

Ducky entered the room at that moment. He was obviously surprised to see the two embracing, which they tried to remedy by extracting themselves from the hug as quickly as possible while stumbling to their feet.

"Um, Ducky, uh, how is she?" Jenny stammered uncharacteristically.

Ducky smiled reassuringly. "She may be a little sore, both physically and emotionally, but I believe that she is fine. She had already fallen back asleep by the time I left the room. Jethro, do _not_ go check on her. She is fine. We all need to sit down and talk about how we will implement our plan to care for her."

Jenny nodded and pulled Gibbs down to the seat next to her on the couch. "Let's talk."

...

**I hope that you enjoyed! **


	8. Chapter 8 - First Night, First Morning

**Yay! Time for another chapter! **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for the editing help! Thanks to Troubled-Angel-26, Ludy, NCISJunkie79, DS2010, Guest (I'm glad to hear that!), fiftyshadeswritergal, KrisShannon, Fashionista-girl, Greatcorals23, and AnnieQuill! The reviews have been wonderful! **

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter. The next chapter will bring in the rest of the team, but for now Ziva is stuck with Gibbs, Jenny, and Ducky! **

**...**

Gibbs spent the night, sitting at the doorway to his room. Jenny had insisted on staying, and she was asleep on the couch in the living room.

"She might have nightmares," she had countered after Gibbs tried to get her to go home.

He went and got her a blanket.

Ducky had gone home around midnight, promising to be back in the morning.

Despite all the concern, Ziva slept through the whole night. She tossed and turned and sniffled and sighed, but she fared better than Gibbs who startled at every sound and slight movement.

"Does she always sleep restlessly?" Gibbs asked Jenny as he poured her a cup of coffee at 5:00 a.m..

"Mmh," Jenny sighed, breathing in the aroma. "Uh, yes, she does. Until she feels comfortable enough with her surroundings to go into a deep sleep and then" - she shuddered - "she often is unable to sleep."

"Why?"

"The nightmares."

"Bad?"

"Horrendous. Wait - someday I hope and pray she will trust you enough to be able to really rest and then you will hear the fear in her screams for yourself."

"Why would you want her to get to that point again?"

Jenny wearily rubbed her eyes. "Because only then will we be able to help her, Jethro. She is going to have to go back to some horrible places in her mind before she heals. But that is another reason why I brought her here, to you. It is the other side of keeping her safe."

"Understood."

"Jethro, are you sure that you will be okay taking care of her?"

"Yes. Tony can handle leading the team for a while - as long as you don't overload him!"

"I won't."

"Good. If I'm needed, I could still get away for a few hours if Ziva is feeling well."

Jenny laughed. "You think that she would still be here if you did?"

Gibbs smiled grimly. "Nope, but there'll be rules and she's going to learn them AND obey."

Jenny looked at her watch. "I can stay for another two hours, then I will need to head in to my office."

"I will let you know if we need you."

"Thank you."

Gibbs nodded toward the stairs. "I'm calling Abby this morning to come clean up the room so that I can move Ziva in there. The lighting's better - she'll like it more."

"Good idea. I'm sure that Abby and the others will be concerned."

"I'm sure they are. My phone keeps dinging. I don't know how to check the messages, but they always start making my phone do that when they are concerned about something but not quite ready to call yet."

A sound on the stairs drew both of their attention.

"Ziva!" Jenny scolded. "What are you doing down here? You should be in bed."

"Why should I? It is 5:30 - I have slept in, and I am fine," Ziva protested.

Pale face, bloodshot eyes, stumbling steps, head tilted, trembling hands. There were a lot of words describing how she looked. Fine, Gibbs reflected, was not one of them.

"No," he said. Ziva looked at him with big brown eyes. The shock he saw was not the surprise at his doubting her abilities that she wanted him to see. He had been in her position before - as had Jenny, Ducky, and nearly everyone else who worked in such a taxing career. At some point one would inevitably approach the edge. Some would hurl themselves over, some would run in the opposite direction and never look back, and the good ones, the ones who were created to be agents, would find a way across the chasm to the other side.

How was Ziva going to react?

"What?" Ziva protested, her voice still quavering with poorly-disguised weakness. "I am able to work."

"No arguing," he told her. "You are not well, Ziva, and you need to accept that fact, get back upstairs, and rest. And that's all you'll be doing until Ducky thinks that you're well enough for anything else."

Ziva's jaw tightened. "But ... I have to work."

_Stubbornness engaged._

_And why does this kid think that she always has to work despite each injury or illness? Sometimes I wish I had one of those travel-time-thingies from those movies McGee and Abby love. I would go give that father of hers a piece of my mind and ..._

Jenny intervened. "You have the next while off work, Ziva. You need a break and there is no need for you to worry about your job."

_Diplomatic, Jen, very diplomatic. Let's see how far that goes with Zi..._

"But I CAN work! I WANT to!"

_Yeah, diplomatic plays have little effect on our "liason". A more direct approach should work better. _

Gibbs just took her arm, ignoring her balking, and led her back toward the stairs. "Back to bed," he ordered.

"No! I don't need ...," but her complaints were ignored. Up the stairs they went and back into the room. Ziva jerked away and reluctantly climbed into bed as Gibbs was blocking the only door. "Stay here until Duck comes to check on you."

"Grrr!"

...

"Ziva, you are not to be thinking of work for a long time," Ducky said gently an hour and a half later, patting her cheek. Even though it was 6:30 on a Thursday morning, Ducky was still incredibly patient.

I would like to bite your hand! Ziva thought viciously. One glance at the other two standing at the bedside changed her mind. Ducky did not scare her - apart from the mysterious power he had concerning her going back to work. But if she bit him she had a feeling that any chance of convincing Jenny would disappear. And Gibbs? She did not want to find out what he would do.

Jenny narrowed her eyes at Ziva. She seemed to be able to tell that Ziva had some questionable thoughts and that glare was meant as a warning to behave. So Ziva pushed off any thoughts of biting for another day.

"I want to go to work," Ziva muttered again. Ducky gently tipped her chin up so he could look her in the eye.

"No, Ziva," he said, softly but with power. "You are not fit - physically OR mentally - for going back to work."

"You cannot make decisions about my mind!" Ziva protested.

"But I trust Ducky's judgment so he DOES get to make the decision," Jenny said firmly. "You will not be going back to work until you have both a psyciatrist's approval AND Ducky's. And I trust that Doctor Mallard will hold to an even higher standard. You might as well accept it now, Agent David."

Ziva disappeared under the covers. "I will not," she muttered rebelliously.

Gibbs shook his head, exchanging disbelieving gazes with Jenny and Ducky. Something about Ziva's breakdown seemed to have loosed her tongue. Never one to be careful with her words, she was on the edge of igniting the infamous tempers of a couple of her caretakers. She confirmed this by suddenly throwing back the sheets, sitting up, and looking them all in the face with a fierce frown.

"You cannot make me stay here!" she fought, her eyes flashing defiance and a challenge to make her do otherwise.

Gibbs took a deep breath and placed his hands on her shoulders. Ziva tried to shrug him off but he maintained his hold. It was time for him to do something difficult for him - speak from the heart.

"Ziva David, you listen and listen well. You are pretty low on choices at the moment. Either stay here - where people who love you want to care for you - or you can choose to go back to the hospital where, if you keep acting like you did yesterday, they'll probably admit you to the psych ward. Now, those are your options. What's your choice?"

Ziva froze. Gibbs had just cornered her - HER! - by responding to a challenge that she put out to them. And now they were all surrounding her bed, waiting for her answer. Oh, how she hated giving in to them! Having to listen and obey them? Ducky would be easy - he would only be there for short times, she was sure. Jenny would be more difficult, because she knew Ziva's tricks better. However, Ziva felt like she could manipulate Jenny if needed. But Gibbs? She could tell in his face that he was going to be hard to work around. And for once in her life, Ziva was questioning her ability to win.

She sighed dramatically. "If it would make you feel so much better, I suppose that I could stay here for a few days."

"You will either stay here as long as Ducky determines as you progress, or you will go to the hospital now," Gibbs declared.

_Oh, bats! He caught on to me! _

Ziva crossed her arms and tried to out-glare him. She lost in ten seconds. Ziva slid down in the bed sulkily.

"I will ... stay," she chose.

_Not like there was much choice! _

"Good choice," Jenny praised, settling the blanket around Ziva.

"I must agree. You should do better here than in a hospital environment," Ducky affirmed. He pulled some peppermints out of his bag. He always had peppermints in case of sore throats. Several months ago Ziva had discovered that fact and ever since she had been pestering the doctor for the treats. He left a handful on the nightstand.

Gibbs closed the curtains on the window.

"Rest, Ziver," he said. But then, as he was passing her, he lowered his voice and said, so softly that only Ziva would hear, "I'm proud of you for making the right choice."

Ziva just exaggerated her pout.

That is, until everyone left the room. Then she snuggled down into the blanket, snagged a peppermint from the nightstand, and closed her eyes in the darkened room.

_They sure are bossy, but something about it is almost ... nice. _

Sometimes, even the toughest fighters need to lose so that they can be loved on and babied. Under the sulkiness, Ziva was actually feeling rather loved and cherished.

...

**Please review! **


	9. Chapter 9 - Renovation

**Hi, everyone! Here is the next chapter - at last! Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for the editing help. Thanks to Dalm, fiftyshadeswritergal, KrisShannon, DS2010, Fashionista-girl, Sammy, Troubled-Angel-26, and Queenofwheels for all of the reviews! **

**Enjoy! **

**...**

"While I stay here and make sure that she listens and rests, could you go get whatever she's going to need to stay here for a few weeks? I know that you have work, but I wouldn't know what to get," Gibbs asked Jenny quietly downstairs. They were alone, as Ducky had left to get some breakfast before heading in to work.

"I'll call Cynthia and leave a message that I will be ... oh ... not in until lunch."

"Are you able to do that?"

Jenny raised an eyebrow speculatively.

"If I can't be late one day out of the year, then what is the point of being director?"

...

About fifteen minutes after Jenny left for Ziva's apartment, Abby showed up at Gibbs' house to clean her room as requested.

"Hey, Gibbs!" she called cheerfully.

"Shh. Ziva's resting."

Abby blinked at the lack of a welcome. She waited for a second as Gibbs poured his cup of coffee.

"Need something, Abs?"

A cold knot settled in her stomach.

"No," she murmured. "Just ... I'll go clean my room."

"Good. I want Ziva to have a space for herself."

Abby did not reply, just stepped into the pantry to grab some supplies.

If that's the way he feels, that's the way that it can be.

...

"Hello?" Jenny called as she entered Ziva's apartment. She could hear rattling and banging from the bedroom, and a heated discussion.

"It's on the list from Abby."

"I know, but I'M not packing it! I want to be left with the use of my eyes when Ziva gets better!"

"Hello!" Jenny called again.

"Director?" McGee called, poking his head out of the door.

"Thank goodness! A woman!" Tony cheered. He shoved the crumpled list in Jenny's hands. "Abby wrote this. We've packed most of the stuff but ..."

Jenny looked down and smiled. Yes, Ziva would probably prefer for a woman to go through her underwear drawer instead of her two male co-workers.

"Go water her house plants," she told them. "I've got this!"

Jenny quickly packed the needed remainder of Ziva's clothing, then looked around the room for anything else. There, on Ziva's nightstand - that photo frame must be taken. Jenny carefully wrapped it in one of Ziva's sweaters to protect the treasure from damage. Then she took a closer look at Ziva's bed. She frowned at one of the pillows. It seemed misshapen. Jenny flipped it over and checked the pillow case. With a knowing smile, she slipped the content into the bag as well.

"No need to feel ashamed about it, Zi, none at all," Jenny muttered to herself.

...

Meanwhile, back at Gibbs', someone else was packing. But the Goth's thoughts were not quite as sentimental as Jenny's.

Abby swiped all of her bat decorations into the second black garbage bag.

"All packed," she muttered to herself. Her hearts and skulls sheets, along with her clothes, were shoved into one bag. All of her decorations were in the second. The special, colourful skull blanket that Gibbs had bought for her was tossed into a corner, wadded into a heap ... a fluffy heap ... a soft and warm heap ... maybe ... no, she would not take it with her. Gibbs had bought it for her for here at his house, and now he had basically told her over the phone that he was evicting her.

"The bats and skulls might bother Ziva," she mimicked with a dramatic eye roll. Oh, she felt sorry for Ziva. She had been so eager to come to Gibbs' house to see how Zi was doing. But Gibbs had not even said hello, just told her to make the room ready for Ziva.

"She's welcome to it," Abby said through gritted teeth. She hefted her bags onto her shoulders and sneaked down the stairs. She could hear Gibbs talking quietly to Ziva in his room.

He never even called out good-bye.

...

"What else do we need to pack?" Tim asked.

"Perhaps grab that sweater hanging by her door?" Jenny suggested.

"Abby was supposed to be here," Tony grumbled. "We all agreed to come here and then take the stuff over all together so that we can all see how Ziva is doing at the same time."

"Abby? I saw her pulling up to Gibbs' house as I drove away," Jenny said. Tony frowned.

"She cheated! She said that she was just going to run out and grab a Caf-Pow! before helping us pack. Instead she went and saw Ziva first!" Tony lamented. "Can you believe it, Probie?"

"Probie" shrugged.

"Makes sense for Abby."

"Its not fair. Let's finish packing and get over there ourselves. I want to see if Ziva's okay."

"She is," Jenny confirmed. Tony looked at her suspiciously, deducing that she must have spent the night at Gibbs' but not daring to say anything about it. Jenny did not offer any information. She found it fun to tease Tony - but she would never let that show.

"What else can we do?" Tim asked.

"Clean out her fridge. Anything that will spoil within the next two weeks, pack up and take with us over to Jethro's. I'll grab the last few things that I think that she'll need, then we can head over to drop them off and possibly have a very SHORT visit."

...

Gibbs looked out of the window. Abby's car was gone.

"Too bad. I wanted to ask her about that design," he muttered.

...

Abby slammed her car door and shuffled up to Ziva's apartment.

Now everyone is going to be upset at me because I lied and said that I was just getting a Caf-Pow! I should have just ignored Gibbs ... no, that wouldn't work ... at least not well. I guess that I should have just waited and gone with everyone else. Then he could have ignored everyone, not just me.

"I'm here," she muttered as she entered Ziva's apartment.

"Hey! You went to Gibbs' without us!" Tony accused.

"Yeah."

"What? No defense? Not even a Caf-Pow!?" Tim asked, genuinely confused.

Jenny examined Abby's face and immediately sensed the problem.

_The princess is dethroned, and the baby is feeling disowned._

"McGee, DiNozzo, would you deliver these items to Gibbs' for Ziva? And Abby, would you join me on a quick shopping trip? I need to find a few things for our dear wild girl."

Jenny phrased them as requests, but as always, she had authority in her voice. Tim and Tony had no problem, as excited as they were to go check on Ziva. Abby, however, was not quite as ready to go shop for her emotional arch nemisis. One look from Jenny confirmed that she had no choice.

_Yikes! Those laser eyes - it's like my mom when she knew that I was going to misbehave and she was warning me with "or else"!_

"Sounds good," Abby acquiesed.

"Wonderful. And I will see both of you," Jenny looked pointedly at the boys, "back at work by 9:30."

"We'll be there," Tim assured her, as Tony was already half out of the door with the bags for Ziva.

...

"You are very quiet, Abby," Jenny observed. They had been in the car on the way to the for half an hour and Abby had barely opened her mouth the whole time. And now, whenever Jenny asked Abby's opinion on which colour of a towel set would Ziva like best or what sort of treat Ziva would most enjoy, Abby had reverted to shrugging.

"Not much to say, I guess," Abby sighed softly.

Jenny decided to dive straight to the heart of the matter.

"Ziva needs his attention desperately right now, Abby."

Abby looked up with tears in her eyes.

"I know, Jenny, I know. And I'm trying - I'm really trying! - to not let it bother me. But ..."

"What?" Jenny prompted, gently placing her hand on Abby's arm.

"He didn't even say hello or give me a hug this morning! He ... he ..."

"He was too busy or distracted?"

Abby nodded.

Jenny gave Abby a gentle hug. "You are as loved as ever, Miss Abigail Scuito. Just now, perhaps, you are dealing with a new 'sister', so to speak. Adoptions of any kind can be turbulent, as I know this one will be. However, I also happen to know that Gibbs has been thinking of you, even in the middle of all of this."

"Really? How? Are you sure?"

Jenny smiled. "I am sure. He will tell you what he was thinking about in particular when he is ready, but I am certain that you will like it."

Abby grinned, sunshine returned.

"Then I think that we should get Ziva some dark chocolate - it's proved to be really good at helping with depression - and that fluffy light yellow towel set, because hopefully it will remind her of sunshine. Or maybe green, since that is the colour of growing things and apparently green is a relaxing colour to a lot of people. And maybe we should get a few fluffy blankets, because I noticed that she doesn't really have any and my favourite is at Gibbs' house and it always makes me feel better. And while we're at it, I'm going to get some new stickers for the walls. Gibbs is horrible at interior decorating. If I didn't do anything in that room, nothing would be done! Now, besides the skulls, what should I get? Let's go to that section next..."

...

"Abs! You're back!" Gibbs said, leaning over to kiss her cheek as he took some shopping bags from Jenny.

"Yeah."

"I didn't get to say goodbye to you."

"I was ... in a hurry."

Gibbs could tell there was something more to it, but he let it slide.

"Look over on the coffee table."

"Why? What are these papers?" Abby asked curiously, pouncing on them.

"Designs. Choose which one you want."

"Wait - GIBBS! Are these designs for a bed?!"

Gibbs shrugged. "If there are going to be two of you sharing a room sometimes, we need two beds. I doubt Ziva wants a specialty type, so I'll make the new one for you."

Abby looked over the designs. Folding beds that turned into couches, headboards carved with bat designs, even a version of her coffin. She rushed over and gave him a big hug.

"Oh, thank you, Gibbs!"

"Don't thank me too soon. You'll be helping me build it."

Abby grinned even wider.

...

Ziva blinked slowly, then sat up with a start.

_I was sleeping - again! How does this keep happening?! I could not possibly be this tired. It must all be Ducky's fault._

A gentle knock on the door distracted Ziva from blaming Ducky.

"Yes?"

Gibbs opened the door. "You're awake now."

"Of course. I'm not tired at all."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow, but let the obvious lie pass for the moment.

"You feeling okay?"

"Of course. It is only a small cut."

"Ziver," Gibbs said softly. "Just let it go."

"I should let go of what?"

Gibbs took a seat on the edge of her bed and took one of her hands in his. The calloused fingertips stroked her palm.

"You've had too much for too long. Ducky wants you to take a break. He's arranged for you to meet a psychologist tomorrow."

"No!" Ziva protested. "I am ..."

"Fine, according to you. I want to hear it from someone else."

I will have to trick that fancy doctor. No one stops me!

Gibbs stood up and opened the window shades, skillfully changing the conversation.

"The boys and Abby were by to see how you were doing."

"Really?"

"Yes. You were sleeping and they did not want to disturb you, but they said to tell you that they miss you. Abby also said something about sending you 'virtual hugs'. Doesn't make sense to me."

Ziva shrugged. "I think that I might understand."

"Jenny got the other room all set up for you. How about we move you over there?"

Ziva shrugged apathetically. "That would be fine."

But Ziva could not maintain her mask as well when she saw the room. Fluffy blankets over muted green sheets and a quilt. The hanging bats were gone, and now some beautiful dove stickers - birds of peace - were clustered on the wall next to the bed. Her favourite sweater was hanging off of the back of a wooden chair, which held a pile of thick towels that matched the colour of her sheets. A vase of daisies was placed on a nightstand, and next to it several bars of her favourite chocolate. The room smelled like lavender, but Ziva could also detect the faint scent of Jenny's perfume and Abby's gunpowder concoction.

She had never stayed in this room before, but it felt like home.

...

**I hope that the slightly longer chapter will help make up for the wait. :D And make sure to come by tomorrow to see a one-shot about ... what else?! ... hugs! I also started posting my new story, "Frightened of Freedom", yesterday. Another chapter of that will be posted this week as well! Lots of fun reading in store!  
**

**Please remember to review! Have a great weekend! **


	10. Chapter 10 - No, No, YES!

**Hi! **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for helping me edit, and thanks to the following people for reviews: Fashionista-girl, Fan, DS2010, fiftyshadeswritergal, KrisShannon, Hippiechic81, Ludy, Queenofwheels, and Troubled-Angel-26. :) **

**Enjoy!**

**...**

It was the now tri-daily battle in the Gibbs house.

Ziva narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"No!"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms as well.

"Yes. Kitchen. NOW."

Ziva's jaw tightened.

"I do not want to eat."

"Too bad. Get in there, sit down, and eat what's on your plate."

Ziva's eyes flashed fire but her stomach grumbled at that inopportune moment, greatly weakening her argument. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her. A light blush lit up her face.

_I wish that ... I wish that ... I hate this. _

"Fine!" she snapped, stomping over to the table, throwing herself into a chair, and clattering the dishes. Her glass splashed water across half the table. Gibbs stayed in the living room with his back to her as he slowly let out a deep breath. He turned and deliberately walked over to his own seat.

"Clean up the spilled water."

Ziva stayed stiff. She slapped a napkin down on the splashed liquid, avoiding eye contact the whole time.

_I hate this water. I hate this table. I hate being told to eat. I hate being told to sleep. I hate being confused and angry and tired and ... No! I do not feel those emotions! That is not me! _

_What is happening to me?!_

"This is getting old very quickly," Gibbs said quietly, sternly.

"Yes," Ziva grumbled pointedly. "I will not take it longer than I need to do so," she added under her breath.

Gibbs ignored her words, instead giving her a helping of salad.

...

"How's it going with her?" Jenny asked over the phone.

Gibbs checked behind himself, to make sure that Ziva truly had gone upstairs to her room, before allowing himself to grimace. "There will need to be some rules that an be enforced if we are to get along without either of us being killed."

"Oh, that sounds just lovely," Jenny laughed. "But most definitely like the both of you. Do you need me to step in and help?"

"Nope. She needs to learn to listen," Gibbs said quietly.

"She listens to me," Jenny offered.

"Really?" Gibbs asked sarcastically.

"Sometimes," Jenny replied. Gibbs could hear the smile in her voice. "Ah, are you ready for the fight that will come after you lay out the rules?"

"She's trying to fight it now, before they are even in place. Might as well be fighting for a purpose."

Jenny chuckled. "She is so stubborn, Jethro."

Gibbs smiled. "I think that I can be her match - at least if you side with me."

"The 'parents being on the same page' spiel?"

"Call it whatever you like."

Jenny groaned. "Jethro, are you really prepared for this? Once you set the rules, you will have to be consistent - no matter what - if you want any good to come of it. Otherwise, you will be putting yourself into a position where your word means nothing to her."

"I know."

"And?"

"I'm ready."

Jenny sighed again. "I'll be over. I think that we probably should have the rest of this conversation face to face."

...

While Gibbs was waiting for Jenny to arrive, Ziva hurried down the stairs and walked to the door.

"Hold on. Where are you going?" Gibbs asked, stepping out in front of her. He noticed the startle, atypical to her regular stoicism.

"Out."

She said it with enough sass to try to appear confident, but the note of uncertainty rang out from underneath.

"You do not leave the house."

Ziva tilted her chin up a few millimeters, enough for Gibbs to notice. "Or what?"

There it was - the push that Gibbs had known was coming.

"Sit," he said softly, gesturing to the nearby sofa.

Ziva ignored his gesture.

"I want to go out jogging."

"Nope. We're going to have a talk about rules."

"I know your rules."

"Sit down," he repeated. "You're going to learn a few new ones."

Ziva folded her arms tightly in a front of defiance, but Gibbs noticed how she gripped her arms lightly to prevent them from shaking and giving away her nervousness.

"They cannot be that special," she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, yes, they can. Because these rules have consequences when broken."

"What kind of consequences?"

"That's up to you."

...

"But you cannot be serious!" Ziva protested half an hour later. "I cannot stay in this house and listen to you like ... like a child to its ... its ... I cannot and will not do it!"

"Then you can go get treatment at a facility that can ensure that you will be able to fight back whatever demons are haunting you."

"I will not go to any facility!"

"You won't have a choice. Remember what Jen, Duck, and I told you when you came here? Either you listen or your going to be handed over to other doctors."

"I hate doctors!"

Gibbs ignored her interjection. "You're a liason with NCIS, and right now you are on sick leave until your mental state is more stable. You don't have many choices and we are never going to just give up on you."

"You ... you should! I mean, you are not responsible ... I do not want your help!" Ziva shouted, her emotions spiraling out of control. Gibbs took it all in stride.

"Well, you're getting it, Little One."

She froze for a second at the affection placed into the nickname. Gibbs nodded at the sheet of paper in front of her.

"You agreed that each was reasonable."

"But I do not want to follow them!"

"Do you want to leave, Ziva?"

Ziva's eyes widened as she hastily spat out, "No!"

"Then this is your choice." He sat down across from her and held out his hand to her. Ziva watched his warily for a moment before letting him take her petite one between his calloused fingertips.

"I want you to stay, Ziver, but it's your choice."

Ziva blinked back several frustrated tears. How many times she had wished to hear those words from someone else's lips. She needed to distract herself from that thought.

"But if I break the rules, what are you going to do? Head slap me?"

"Again, your choice."

"What are you saying? I would choose my own punishment?"

"Not exactly, but you and I will agree on a list of consequences that fit the action. When you break a rule, you'll receive that consequence."

Ziva settled into her seat a little more. Her eyes relayed her curiousity.

"What kind of consequences?"

"Typical. Grounding. Lost privileges."

"Isn't that how things are already?" Ziva grumbled.

Gibbs tapped her list.

"Read number five again."

"Control my attitude," Ziva replied, head down and subdued.

"Good girl," he said gently, praising the self-control. He moved on to avoid embarrassing her. "Oh, trust me, I could ground you or remove privileges. You WOULD notice a difference, believe it or not."

Ziva's eye roll indicated that she did not believe it and that she still was not in control of her attitude. It took all of Gibbs' strength to control his temper as he continued.

"Those would be rather restrictive right now, at least at 'full strength'. I usually use them moderately in conjunction with something else that's a little faster, although more intense at the moment."

"What?"

"A good old-fashioned spanking."

Ziva's big eyes nearly doubled.

"A ... spanking?"

"You know that I use it with the others."

"But ... but ... you could not spank ME!"

The side of Gibbs' mouth quirked up. "Why not?" he asked.

"You just ... you ... you ...!"

"I use spankings with all of the other team members. Generally they prefer it to being grounded. But we'll use whatever method you feel most comfortable with. I don't want to do anything that could scare you."

Gibbs' coffee maker beeped, taking his attention off of Ziva for a moment, so he missed the flash across her face that would have revealed that, even though she was uncomfortable with the idea of being spanked by Gibbs, she would not refuse due to a fear that she was weaker than her teammates. But there was one last evasive maneouver left in her toolbox.

"Oh, I could take any spanking, but Jenny will not let you," she said with confidence. At least it was an attempt at confidence.

_Jenny spanks me - and it stings! - but she would never let him spank me - would she? _

Gibbs' chuckle was not any comfort.

"She'll be over in a few minutes. Ask her then."

Ziva's hope wavered, but she shrugged and declared, "I will."

"Good."

"Good."

I hope.

...

"Not allow him to spank you?!" Jenny asked with a gentle smile. "You silly girl. I spank you. Why would I not let Gibbs do the same?"

Ziva's confused expression nearly had the two older agents laughing, but they remained stoic for her sake. It would be hard enough for her to accept rules without them showing any amusement at her reactions.

"Gibbs, let's run through a situation. How would you deal with a young agent who risked her life carelessly while undercover in a volatile situation?"

"Get a wooden spoon and spank some sense into her," Gibbs replied immediately with a small smirk.

Ziva's eyes grew big and she jumped to her feet, cheeks flushing furiously.

"You told him!" she gasped indignantly, stepping angrily toward Jenny. "You told him!"

"Oh, so that's how you dealt with her?" Gibbs asked from his relaxed seat on the sofa. Ziva swung around.

"You already knew because she told you! She told you what she did on my eighteenth birthday!"

"She told me that she spanked you, but not how," Gibbs replied.

Ziva glared thunderbolts and disbelief.

"How do you think I learned how to respond to disobedient agents?" Jenny asked, quirking her eyebrow.

Ziva stared at Jenny for a moment, then looked at Gibbs, then back at Jenny.

"He ...?"

"Yes. And that's one reason I brought you here - for you to learn, not just from me, but from Jethro as well." Jenny motioned for Ziva to sit down.

"You, young lady, are not going to win when you keep fighting us, so you might as well settle down and start learning."

Ziva tried to fight Jenny's gaze, but it was doomed to be unsuccessful from the beginning. She dropped down on the couch and glared distastefully at the list of rules.

"Ready to talk about the consequences then?"

Ziva shrugged helplessly.

"We might as well if it means so much to you."

Twin glares made her shrink down in her seat. She would bide her time. She had no intentions of listening to those rules.

And she would never let them catch her.

...

**Uh oh! What will happen next? Any guesses? **

**Please review! **


	11. Chapter 11 - Home Alone

**Hi, everyone! Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for her help with editing. Thanks for all the reviews from readers - Troubled-Angel-26, Gibbs4Eva, A, Queenofwheels, Tamara, DS2010, Fashionista-girl, Rhi, Fan, Greatcorals23, fiftyshadeswritergal, Guest, starie78, and Guest. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to update. I was finishing up my summer job and moving for college. I start classes tomorrow - I can't wait! I will try to make my next update sooner than last time! **

**Enjoy! **

**...**

"It's set up now, Boss," McGee said quietly, stepping inside of the house. He was lowering his voice due to the fact that Ziva was upstairs and asleep, yet Gibbs had wanted this chore done tonight.

"Thanks, McGee."

"Do you know how it works?"

"Nope. That's what you do. I just wanted to have the extra safety for Ziver."

Tim smiled and shook his head with amusement. It was strange to hear Gibbs so concerned for Ziva, who always seemed so independent. Tim guessed that perhaps Gibbs saw something that no one else could see in the ninja, so he was happy to help provide any extra peace of mind when possible. For now, he quietly left the house. It was getting late and without Gibbs, it would be a very busy day at work tomorrow.

...

**BRIIIING! **

Gibbs grabbed the phone off of the hook.

_Why can't anyone remember that I have sleeping kid here?! _

"Gibbs!" he barked into the phone.

"Easy, Jethro!" Jenny replied.

_And of all people to know ... _

"Stop causing all this racket. You'll wake her!"

"I'm pretty sure that your shouting will do that. And what's all this crankiness and worrying about waking Ziva? You sound like a sleep-deprived father of an infant!"

"I feel like it!" Gibbs growled. "Now, why are you calling?"

"You're in court today."

"What?"

"The Hadsen case? Smuggling and human trafficking? Remember? You caught them while looking for missing Corporal Larkin?"

Details of the case returned to Gibbs' memory.

"Yeah."

"You're supposed to be in the courtroom at 9:30. The prosecution has not told me yet when you will be testifying, but they need you there."

"But Ziva!"

"She will be fine. She was not self-harming or suicidal, just had a breakdown. A little time of her own, without you hovering, might help her relax a little more. It would only be for a few hours. Ducky and I will be around. Make sure that she knows that she can call us. She would be fine."

"She wouldn't call you! She hates seeming dependent!"

"Then both Dr. Mallard and I will call her through the time that you are gone. I know how to read the tone of her voice, even over the phone. Now go get dressed in something other than those sawdust covered rags that you have on now, and I will see you later - BEFORE you head home - to hear how your testimony went."

Gibbs glared. Jenny could not see him, but maybe she would feel a little of the coldness.

Maybe she did, because when she next spoke her voice was calmer and considerate.

"I know that you are concerned - I am as well - but she will fine. And think of your team, Jethro. They are concerned as well, and seeing you stop by, even for just a few minutes, would do a lot to calm their nerves. They are a jumpy bunch right now. They are working hard and doing well, but they miss you."

Gibbs could not help himself. He was smiling again at the thought of his team. They were good people and he was proud of them.

And, of course, he would do anything for them.

"I'll be by after court. Call Ziva every hour on the hour."

"Jethro! She might be sleeping!"

"She can go to be early tonight. Promise me, you'll call her."

"I will."

"And Ducky too, alternating so that she has a call every half hour."

"Jethro!"

"Or I'm not leaving."

"Fine!" Jenny sighed. "We'll call her. Now get ready!"

...

"Where are you going?" Ziva asked uneasily from her station on the stairs. She could see that Gibbs was preparing to go somewhere and that was making her feel ... nervous. Despite her fiercely independent side, she was very confused by her constantly swirling emotions. Everything felt ... fragile ... inside of her right now.

Although being around Gibbs sometimes made her feel like she was going to explode from the new rules and restrictions he had in place, the thought of him leaving her was making her feel agitated and strangely close to tears. Ducky would say that she was struggling against feeling abandoned, but Ziva only knew that she did not like what was going on in her world.

Gibbs answered, "I have to testify in court."

"Why?"

Gibbs paused and frowned a little at the question. Ziva caught on to what had slipped from her mouth and blushed.

_Now I sound weak! I sound like a baby about to start crying because its parents are out of sight. I am fine. I am fine. _

Gibbs did not try to answer the question, just walked over to Ziva and handed her a phone.

"Answer if it rings. Every time it rings, answer. Jen and Ducky will be checking up on while I'm gone, and so will I, when I have a chance."

Ziva took the phone, avoiding eye contact. That phone represented a lot of things. Distance, Gibbs being gone, people caring, involvement in her life, rules, protection, lack of freedom. She felt like embracing it and breaking it in the same instant.

"Will you be fine, little one?" Gibbs asked gently, tilting her chin so that she would meet his gaze.

"Of course," she answered curtly, pulling away.

"Good."

He leaned in and kissed the top of her head.

"Follow the rules, answer the phone. I'll be back in a few hours. If you need anything, let Jen, Duck, or anyone on the team know. And you can always call me."

"I am fine," Ziva grumbled stubbornly.

A chuckle, another kiss, and he was gone.

...

Back and forth.

Back.

And forth.

Back.

And.

Forth.

Ziva had been pacing for the last twenty-eight minutes.

Ducky had called, concerned about Ziva's head. Her scratches. Her bandages. Her emotions.

It was the fourth time that he had called.

Jenny had called six times. Gibbs had called twice. Abby and Tony had both checked on her as well, and Jimmy had called out his greetings from the background of one of Ducky's chats.

_I am tired of that old phone! _

Just then it started singing out the arrival of a new call.

_I will not answer. _

_I will not I will not I will not I will not ..._

She flipped it open reluctantly.

"David."

"Are all these calls keeping you awake?" Jenny asked.

"Yes," Ziva responded curtly.

"I told Jethro!" Jenny sighed. "Can you last another two hours, Zi? He's ... concerned. Having us call you so much was the only way that he would willlingly agree to go testify."

Ziva remained silent, trying to hide her surprise. Once again, she was unsure if she liked or disliked this concern.

"Keep answering. It'll be over soon," Jenny said.

"I ... will," Ziva assured her.

"Love you, Zi."

Ziva hung up the phone. She wandered back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

...

"I'll be home in an hour, Ziver."

Although she was not anxious to see Gibbs again, at least the constant phone calls would stop.

Possibly.

"Be good."

"Hmm."

Ziva's hum was noncommital.

The call ended and Ziva continued pacing.

Her glances began to drift toward the door.

_No. _

_No. _

_I was told that I could not. _

_They are being nice. _

_I cannot. _

_I cannot. _

_Gibbs has been kind, but ..._

_I do not want to stay. _

_I have to at least get a breath of fresh air. _

_I need to. _

Moving with sudden decision, Ziva pulled on her running shoes and opened the door.

"Ahh!" she sighed happily.

...

McGee had a reason that he had not called Ziva that day.

He was feeling guilty.

It was not like he had any other option when Gibbs called and asked him to set up a motion-sensing video security system.

And this morning Gibbs had called and asked that McGee keep an eye on the system until he returned. He had said that he wanted to make sure that no Mossad people showed up, but McGee was suspicious that there was a much greater chance that Ziva would be trying to push boundaries.

So McGee was babysitting Ziva electronically with instructions to tattle if she disobeyed Gibbs' rules.

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **

McGee's head shot up from where he was sitting at his desk.

"Ohnoohnoohno!"

"What's going on, McGee?" Gibbs asked quietly from behind him.

McGee jumped.

"Uh, noth..."

"No lying, Tim. She's out, isn't she?" Gibbs saw the screen and found the answer for himself.

"Maybe she heard something and needed to go check?" Tim suggested hopefully. Gibbs just watched Ziva pacing for a few minutes, then turned away.

"Don't call her, McGee."

Tiim slumped over on his desk and groaned. It would not take long for Ziva to figure out who helped Gibbs find out anyway. And then he was going to be dead.

...

Ziva had resumed her pacing outside. She gulped in the fresh air, all the sweeter due to its stolen quality.

"Just perfect for a run," she told herself. She began to stretch.

_But Gibbs had been so kind to you!_

Oh, so her conscience was deciding to speak up at this perfect moment for rebellion. It always did show up at the wrong times.

_I never asked for his kindness! _

She rolled her shoulders, loosening her body.

_He cares for you. _

_I never asked for him to care either! _

She rolled her ankles in small circles.

_He is thinking about your safety. _

_I do not need his help. I have always been safe on my own. _

_Liar! _

_Safe enough! _

_LIAR! _

She reached for her toes and held the stretch for ten seconds.

_You would be breaking the rules. _

_That is the LAST thing to concern me. _

_No, it is not. You do not want Gibbs to discipline you. _

_He would n... I do not care about his silly punishments. I want to go for a run! AND I WILL! _

She bounced on her toes lightly, flexing her feet.

_You always wanted this kind of relationship before, when you did not have it in reach. _

Now THAT hit hard. Ziva was particularly angry at her conscience.

_I never wanted it with HIM! I ... wanted it with ... someone else. _

_Maybe he could be someone else. _

Ziva ran off of the porch, attempting to leave her conscience behind.

...

Ziva sat on the sofa, trying to ignore that conscience niggling her with reminders she wanted to forget. Somehow her eyes kept drifting back to the list on the wall. Rule number 6 stood out as if written in flames.

"No leaving the house without permission."

When they had created the list, Gibbs had explained that this was not meant to be restrictive but protective.

"I can't protect you if I don't know where you are. If I feel that it is okay, you'll be able to go out or I can go with you."

Ziva bristled inside, just like when Gibbs had been adding the rule to the list.

"I know what's safe," she muttered. "I was fine running up and down the street on my own."

She continued to think about what Gibbs had said.

"And as this is a variation of you needing to stay safe and avoid unnecessary rules - rule 2 on this list - then I will be disciplining you with a spanking if you break this rule. Do you understand?" Gibbs had asked.

She had nodded. She had understood. But she had been thinking about how she would break the rule when he and Jenny were not around. Now she had, but instead of feeling liberated she was stuck with this lump of guilt.

_I was only out for ten minutes. It hurt my side to run, so I just walked up and down the street for a few minutes. But that was not fun. All that I could think about was those rules!_

_Gibbs was kind to me. He TRUSTED me to obey those rules this morning. And now I have broken his trust! _

Her stomach knotted. She was dreading Gibbs' return.

...

**I hope that you enjoyed. Please review. What do you think will happen? How do you think Gibbs and Ziva are going to resolve this situation? I can't wait to hear from you! **


	12. Chapter 12 - Rules Have Consequences

**Warning: This chapter includes the disciplinary spanking of Ziva. If you do not want to read this, please feel free to skip to the next chapter once it is up for the public!**

**Thanks for the reviews to the following: A, Dawn248, DS2010, Fashionista-girl (for both reviews!), fiftyshadeswritergal, starie78, Troubled-Angel-26, and Ludy. **

**Thanks for the help editing, fiftyshadeswritergal! **

**Now, enjoy! And please remember to review! **

**...**

Ziva was still sitting on the couch, arms folded defensively over her chest, when she heard the muted slam of a door and quick tap of footsteps on the front porch.

Gibbs was back.

She jumped to her feet as he entered the room.

_Does his gut know? It must be if mine is so upset! _

"Hello, Ziver," he said, smiling at her and walking to the kitchen to immediately grab a cup of cold coffee.

She paused.

_A _friendly_ greeting? Where is his gut now?_

"Hi," she replied, her mouth dry.

"Um, that's good," Gibbs murmured, taking another gulp of the coffee. He turned to Ziva.

"How was your afternoon? Restful?"

_He must not know or he would be demanding an answer by now. I ... I got him!_

Ziva shifted a little.

"No, it was not restful. Everyone kept calling me. It was VERY annoying!"

_This is good. Now that I am annoyed he will not ask anymore sneaking questions._

Gibbs shrugged casually.

"Remember, we only do these annoying things to prove our love for you."

Ziva's heart jumped to her throat, but she tried her best to control her expressions.

"Hmph," she muttered under her breath, but she regretted it as soon as she did. Normally such a sign of attitude would have gained her a glare or reprimand from the authorities in her life. But now, Gibbs just walked over with a smile on his face. She stiffened as he moved forward, but all he did was kiss the top of her head and walk back toward the kitchen.

"What do you want for supper, Ziver?"

The use of that nickname completely undid Ziva. Where was the angry, suspicious boss that she expected? Why was Gibbs asking her what she wanted for dinner instead of demanding which rules she had broken?

_You are just feeling guilty. He does not know. He does not really know. Relax, Ziva. _

"Anything else happen this afternoon?"

Ziva looked at him critically, but there was no sign of him questioning her beyond surface conversation.

_I was fine outside. I have no need to be ashamed. I will just say it, _Ziva thought with a touch of self-protective defiance.

"I went out for a short walk," she mentioned with forced nonchalance.

"Oh," Gibbs said softly. He opened a drawer and rattled around, calmly withdrawing a grater. "We'll have shredded carrots on a salad. Do you like that? Abby always does."

"Sure," Ziva responded, but her heart sank as he set the carrots on the counter and made direct eye contact.

"And why did you go outside, Ziva?"

"I wanted to."

"So no danger?"

"Of course not. It was safe for me to be outside."

"That's not what I meant. What I was asking was, was there danger for you to be inside?"

Ziva's shoulders tensed.

"No."

"Hmm." Gibbs left the kitchen and re-entered the living room. Ziva's wide eyes took in every aspect of him and was surprised, yet again. His face was kind, his eyes just the slightest bit sad but also gentle, his posture relaxed.

"It was only a short walk," she offered in a premptive shot.

Gibbs nodded thoughtfully. "I understand that." His look changed to be a little more stern. "But, Ziva, before I left today, did I not tell you to follow the rules and stay inside?"

"Yes," Ziva replied reluctantly, then quickly added, "But I was not outside very long! I stayed right on this street!"

Gibbs took her hand and led her to the couch. He sat down, guiding her to stand in front of him while he took her other hand, maintaining eye contact.

"Would going outside for ten seconds be considered breaking the rule?"

She shifted. "Such a short time does not matter."

"Oh, so a bomb can't go off in ten seconds?"

"Of course..."

"Then ten seconds does matter."

"...but there were not any dangers!"

"You could not know that," he snapped.

"I am trained to protect myself in any danger!" Ziva snapped right back at him.

...

Gibbs realized that the conversation was spiraling out of control. He paused and took a deep breath.

_Just remember, when you confront her, that you need to breathe._

Jenny's advice from earlier was quite valid.

_You'll only scare her away if you get too strict, although you'll reduce your authority if you go too soft. Balance, Jethro, balance. _

He gave her hands what he hoped was a calming squeeze.

"The rules are there to protect you, because we love you. Jenny, Duck, me - we all love you, Ziver. That's why we have rules. And," he sighed, "because those rules are important to your well-being, they have consequences to help encourage you to obey them."

Ziva tried to extricate her hand, but Gibbs maintained his hold.

_Stay firm. She will be fine. She will not hate you. None of the other kids have. _

_But then, none of them came from the same background as her. _

_I could not stand it if I ruined the one chance that she has at having a positive father role-model in her life. _

_Just stay firm - in love. _

...

Ziva tried to pull away her hands again. Now she really wanted to run.

"What is the consequences that we agreed on if you went outside without permission?" Gibbs asked firmly.

Ziva's eyes darted anywhere but his face. Her heart was beginning to pound. She could remain calm and collected in a shoot-out, but being confronted by Gibbs? She realized that she was panicked.

_Ziva David, look at me when I am talking to you! _

"Ziver, please look at me."

_LOOK AT ME! _

"Good girl. Thank you for looking at me."

Ziva refocused slightly and frowned.

_Why is he thanking me? He should be angry!_

...

Gibbs' heart tightened. He had seen that little flash of disorientation. He could only guess who's voice was running through her frightened mind.

_Ugly echoes._

"Focus, Ziver." He repeated the nickname again, hoping that the positive link would bring her back to the present.

...

Ziva blinked a few times, clearing her thoughts.

"I was fine," she protested.

...

_I was fine. When exactly are you referring, Zi? Now or then? _

Gibbs stood and gently led her to the wall where the rules were posted.

_At least this will get her focused here. _

"You broke this rule," he said, tapping the words. "And here," he shifted his finger, "is the consequence. I'm going to have to spank you, Ziva."

...

_I am not scared of a spanking. I am not! I am not! _

_I do not care how you punish me! You can beat me until I bleed and I will never give in to you. See? I have proved my words. _

...

Gibbs led her back to the couch and motioned for her to sit. She did so without even a murmur.

That was concerning.

He took a seat next to her and gently tipped her chin up so that he could look deep into her eyes.

"Who's voice are you hearing, Ziva?"

...

Ziva gulped.

_How can he read my mind?! _

"No one," she whispered the lie. "Only yours."

...

Gibbs sighed.

_If this was Tony or Abby, they'd be in trouble for lying just about now. _

"Then focus on me. Are you nervous about me giving you a spanking? Because if so, we could use a different form of discipline like we had discussed. I know a decision ..."

"I am fine with my decision," Ziva quickly replied. "You can spank me. I am not afraid."

Gibbs hated the false bravado she so evidently believed that she needed to present. But now he was stuck between disciplining her according to the rules or making the newly established rules null.

_What do all those construction signs say? "Proceed with caution." That's what I'll do. _

...

"Then we might as well get this done. No need to draw out unpleasant business. Do you want me to call Jenny over? Would that make you more comfortable?"

"Why would I want that?" Ziva asked. She could only imagine Jenny's disapproval at Ziva's breaking the rules.

_If there is any chance of her giving me more punishment for breaking the rules, I never want her to know! _

"I know Jen's spanked you before. Maybe you'd feel more comfortable if she was here. It's fine if you want a woman here."

"No," Ziva shook her head adamantly. "Do not call Jenny."

Gibbs looked at her appraisingly, then continued.

"If you're sure that you're ready for this, come here." He motioned to right next to his knee.

"Why?" she asked, although she already knew. Maybe even a few seconds would help her gather her bravery ...

"I"m going to bend you over my lap."

"But ... but that is for children!"

"Not only children." His eyes softened. "Trust me, Ziva, of all positions for a spanking, this is the best one for you."

"Why?" Ziva asked, trying to stall, but Gibbs saw through her. He gently took her wrist and pulled her toward him, not rushing, not forcing, just guiding her despite her reluctance.

"It keeps you safe - from squirming out of position and from me going beyond what you can handle," he explained softly, then carefully started to position her bent over his knee. She stiffened, but his gentle hand on her back guided her into her spot.

Ziva struggled to hold her head up, but the position made it difficult.

"Relax," Gibbs coached.

"That is rather hard to do when I know that you are about to hit me!" she snapped angrily.

...

_Hit? _

Gibbs did not even pause adjusting Ziva so that her legs could not touch the floor, preventing an easy escape if she panicked. She was throwing out words that she hoped would stop him. Both of them knew that she was not afraid of being hit.

What she was afraid of were consistent boundaries.

And love.

Love was terrifying.

And no one understood that fact more than Gibbs.

_I can do this. _

...

Ziva felt her breath coming faster despite trying to slow it to portray confidence. She was off-balance, head down, legs off of the floor, and bottom in the middle of Gibbs' lap. Jenny never took much time to prepare for a spanking, always quickly pulling Ziva over her knee for a quick flurry of spanks. This was different. Ziva had a feeling that Gibbs had a lot more experience than Jenny.

She hated people experienced in punishment...

"Ziva, I'm not spanking you because I think you are a bad person, or because I enjoy causing you pain, or even because I want to force you to obey these rules. I am going to give you a little spanking because I want you to know that I care about you - love you - so much that even when it includes something unpleasant, like disciplining you, I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you remain safe."

_I WAS safe_, Ziva thought to herself. It was the only information that she had left to fight the feeling that maybe she DID deserve to be here. And if she deserved discipline, then she would have to ...

"I know that you can control whether or not you process pain. You can put yourself into a mindset that whatever is happening to your body isn't real or important. I know. I've been there. But that is for dangerous situations. Right now, the only danger there is a small, manageable amount of sting that I'm going to be placing on your backside. So I'm asking you to promise me, Ziva, that you will do your best to stay right here while I spank you."

_Unfair! _

_I will not respond. Maybe he will not continue. _

"If you do not want to talk this time, I am going to continue on. If it gets to the point where you need me to end, tell me. I promise that I will stop, Ziva, as long as it is because you know that your mind cannot handle more. I know that your body can handle more than anything I would ever give you as discipline. I'm going to ask you questions between every few spanks to make sure that you are still paying attention to me and so that you can communicate if you get feeling overwhelmed. I will not be continuing your spanking until I get a response and know that you are okay. As I get to know you better, this will be adjusted, but for now this is how it is. Understood?"

Ziva refused to answer.

"As I said, I won't continue until I know that you are fine."

_I do not think that I will be winning this fight at this point. I might as well ... _

"Understood," she mumbled.

"Good. Now, do you know why you are being disciplined?"

_So many answers! And ... so much more trouble I could cause. Just get it over with for now. I can always fight tomorrow. _

"Because I went outside."

"Right. That broke a rule. Do you know why we have rules, Ziva?"

She squirmed, disliking the vulnerable position.

_Make him angry. You might as well. _

"Because you are bossy."

No slap, no angry response. Just, "Because we love you." He continued. "Usually I do not tell my kids how many spanks they're getting. A number does not necessarily mean a fair amount of discipline. But today, because this is your first time, I am telling you that I will only be giving you eight spanks, over your pants, with my hand. It will sting, but you can handle it. Are you ready to start?"

Ziva gritted her teeth, then choked out, "Yes, sir."

"Good girl," he whispered. Then ...

SWAT!

Ziva jumped at the contact, then immediately blushed red. Here she was, not even being able to hold her position for one small spank? It was noisy, but not very hard.

SWAT!

The second was a little harder on the other side of her bottom.

"You okay?"

The tone, so full of concern, elicited her cooperation.

"Yes, Gibbs."

SWAT!

SWAT!

"Why are you being spanked, Ziva?"

_He already asked me that. _

"I said!"

"Say it again."

"Why?"

She immediately winced after asking the question, expecting Gibbs to spank her harder for her question, but she felt the warmth of his hand resting against her lower back.

"I want to make sure that you remember why I am disciplining you now. That remembrance is what keeps this from becoming a punishment, possibly one that blends into some past ... hurts. If you start combining those two places in your mind, I need to stop. I'm trusting you to be honest with me. Now, why are you being spanked?"

"Because," she gulped, "I broke the rule and went outside."

"Correct."

SWAT!

He was right. It did sting. But he was also right about holding her over his knee. She could not move away - and somehow, that was comforting.

_I can handle this. _

"The last three spanks are going to be harder. It's okay if you want to squirm a little or cry. Do you understand?"

"I will not cry."

"I just want you to know that you can."

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT!

Ziva surprised herself as she jerked a little during the last spank. Gibbs was serious about her following those rules! And half a tear came to her eye as she heard the reassuring question, "Are you okay, Little One?"

...

**Please review! **


	13. Chapter 13 - Pulling Away

**Hi, everyone! I'm back! I've been working on "Game Night" this weekend. I hope that you've all had a chance to check it out - I loved writing about Jimmy for a change! **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for her encouragement! And thanks to my reviewers - Troubled-Angel-26, Guest123 (thank you - that was a very kind, complimentary comment; I understand that spanking fics aren't everyone's forte, but I'm glad that you took the time to review anyway!), A (aww, thank you!), Guest, DS2010, KrisShannon, Fashionista-girl, Fan (thank you so much!), Tamara, fiftyshadeswritergal, and Dalm! It means so much to hear from everyone! **

**I hope that everyone enjoys this. This is more of a comfort chapter, and the next one will carry that sentiment as well. Just had to dive back to the echoing part. :) **

**Enjoy! **

**...**

Ziva squirmed off of Gibbs' lap as quickly as possible. He helped, his hand that had spanked her now carefully lifting her. His other hand took hers, squeezing it. She yanked away, stumbling backward and bumping into an armchair.

"Easy, Ziver," Gibbs said softly, trying to stabilize her while she pulled away.

"No...ooo!" she gasped. She was not crying - Ziva hated crying. It was weak and pathetic. But the heavy breathing, the tiny gasps - that was not necessarily the sound of a hardened warrior. At least in her mind it was nowhere as bad as sobbing like a baby.

"Okay, okay," Gibbs said soothingly. "Relax."

"No!" Ziva resisted, moving backward and rubbing her bottom, still rather shocked by the sting.

"No rubbing," Gibbs said sternly. Ziva froze, surprised by the sudden change of tone again. "Good girl," he said softly, modulating his tone again as he saw her blink wildly to control her rising tears. "Rubbing is not allowed right after a spanking. Your bottom's stinging for a reason and you need to be thinking about that rather than how to get your backside to feel better."

Ziva frowned, but the expression was softened by the shine in her eyes. Gibbs could detect the restrained tears, brought on by the new experience and his own stern tone. It broke his heart. In fact, he was pretty sure that he was hurting as much emotionally as Ziva was physically. It was not irreparable, just very unpleasant in the moment.

"Come here," he told her softly. Ziva haltingly stepped toward him, wary of the location of his hands.

_I think that we are in a pretty good place for this moment. It is, after all, her first spanking from me. _

"I'm not giving you any more spanks," he assured her, slowly standing while making eye contact. He had been thinking of getting her to sit next to him, but had decided against it. Ziva was not Abby, who had to snuggle no matter how much her bottom hurt. She was not Tony, who was back to his joking and bringing up an old movie on the tv within minutes of being absolved of a guilty conscience, no matter how serious the paddling. She was not Tim, who would sit just to try to appear as tough as Tony, while simultaneously seeking assurance through Gibbs' actions that he was truly forgiven and accepted. Ziva was Ziva, and new to this. It was going to take time to figure out what strategy worked best for comforting the little spitfire. Making Ziva sit down would be seen as cruel to her when she had no emotional need to do so. She would only blame him for the extra hurt of having to sit.

Ziva finally moved next to him, but her eyes were down. Gibbs gently reached out and tipped her chin upward.

"Hey, don't be ashamed," he whispered reassuringly. She looked away again. He did nothing to stop her, just touching her shoulder for a second as he whispered, "Everyone's been disciplined at some point, Ziver. You took your spanking really well. I'm proud of you."

...

_How could he be proud of me? He just spanked my bottom! And it actually hurt! _

Ziva felt flushed with shame. Not only had she actually confessed - she, who had been taught to successfully lie whenever possible in hiding one's motives! - she had submitted to the discipline and been spanked like a little girl. She did not like herself very much in that moment.

"Do you want a hug?" Gibbs offered quietly. Ziva shook her head vehemently.

"May I go to my room?" she mumbled.

Gibbs watched her for a few moments, then nodded.

"I'll check on you in a little bit," he said, allowing her the space that she craved. She turned to the stairs and ran, ignoring the increased sting in her bottom as she did so.

_I do not deserve comfort. I am weak. I am worthless. I am bad_, Ziva scolded herself mentally. As was normal lately, her mind drifted to another spot. Another voice. She laid down on the bed just as the memories began their full assault, carrying her away from Gibbs' house to a time and place on the other side of the world, in what seemed a lifetime ago.

...

_Teach her to obey. Teach her to be strong. There is no room in my family for anyone who is weak. Take her out and teach her a lesson. Be a man._

Ziva winced internally at the memory of the young officer being forced to drag her away, to punish her - it was one of the worst memories, the severity of the punishment having forever burned it into her memory. She had been only twelve or thirteen - possibly fourteen at most? She had failed at one of her father's early training exercises that he routinely forced her and Ari to complete.

As a young girl, Ziva had grown to dread failure, not just due to the heavy disappointment and censure that she saw in her adored Abba's eyes. She dreaded it because she then became a type of training exercise for official members of her father's teams - the administration of punishment - often a word that was code for torture. No, her father had not punished her himself. He had given that duty to those he wanted to toughen. Ziva's pain tolerance went up, accompanied by bruises and welts that lasted for days, sometimes a week or two. Meanwhile, the administrators of the "richly deserved punishment" went on to interrogate terrorists successfully in hidden rooms with darkened windows and "malfunctioning" cameras.

_The heavy leather belt had snapped against bare skin. She could feel the swelling of the welts. Parts of her legs were numb from repeated strikes. Then he would change to a stinging rod that awoke difference senses of pain and the blessed numbness would disappear. A warm trickle of blood escaped from one mark. She breathed heavily, panting with the strikes, allowing her mind to escape to a different place. _

_She had not cried then. And later Abba had said that he was proud of her. _

_"You will do well for your country," he had praised, kissing her cheek and waiting for her to return the motion. Then he left her, going back to his office while she dragged herself to the bathroom to strip away the clothing that stuck to the battered skin, to wince as water touched the wounds, to refuse to use antibacterial soap because of how much it would hurt. _

_Later that night, Ari would sneak into her room. _

_"Shh," he would soothe her as the gentlest of touches on her back would make her gasp. He sat beside her, slowly pushing the blanket down so that he could assess the situation. He had studied enough doctor books already to know how to help, applying lotions as painlessly as possible as he attended to the welts while she shivered with cold and pain. _

_"You did not wash them with soap, Ziva?" he scolded, but he understood._

_"I did not cry today," she whispered, proud of her achievement. Ari had not replied. It was when she sneaked a glance backward at his face as he examined her bleeding thighs, that she saw pure rage for the first time in her brother's eyes. She had inhaled in a quick gasp, scared by what she saw. He turned to her, seeing her shock, and immediately his expression transferred to one of love. _

_"I am sorry," he had whispered. He did not explain why. _

_Perhaps it was for many things._

_And then, he had placed the blanket lovingly over his sister and sung a lullaby to her, one that her Imma had repeated so often when Ziva was little. Even though she was not his mother, Ari had heard his father's wife sing it to Ziva and had learned it to comfort the little sister that he worshiped. _

...

Gibbs peered around the corner. Ziva was on her bed, asleep. Any of the other kids, he would have been happy they were resting. But seeing her twitch and jerk, he doubted that she was at rest. Wherever she was ...

Her head moved a little and he caught sight of the dampness of a single tear trail, an escapee as Ziva's eyes had fluttered shut.

Gibbs lifted his cellphone. He needed reinforcements for when she woke.

She might be physically safe in his house, but currently her mind was isolated from his protection.

...

**Please review. :D If you applaud for musicians at a concert or laugh in response to a friend's joke, please remember that reviews are the equivalent for writers on FanFiction! :) I (and every other author, I'm sure) love hearing from you! **


	14. Chapter 14 - Comfort

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for the help in editing! **

**Thanks for the reviews to the following - Troubled-Angel-26, Queenofwheels, Rhi, Dalm, DS2010, xstargirlx123, A, Fan, KrisShannon, HappyGuest, Fashionista-girl, and NaughtyAngelBrat (thanks for the MANY catch-up reviews on many stories!). **

**Now, enjoy!**

**...**

"So, how has she been?" Jenny asked in muted tones, setting her purse on a nearby chair.

Gibbs shrugged downheartedly. "I don't know, Jen."

Jenny walked over to him, her mouth curving up slightly with understanding. She placed a soft hand on his face, gently running her thumb along the lines of worry.

"Perhaps I should have started with, she will be fine, Jethro."

"I don't know, Jen," Gibbs repeated doubtfully.

"Did she do her whole drama routine?" Jen asked with a smirk.

"What?"

"You know how you can tell when someone is crying just for sympathy?"

"Yeah. I've spent enough time with Abby to kn... but what does that have to do with this?"

Jenny frowned. "Ziva did not act that way with you?"

"No. She does with you?" Gibbs asked with confusion.

Jenny narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "Yes, she does. She kicks, squirms, cries - she likes to bite too."

Gibbs ran his hand across his face. "I've only ever seen her cry when something is ... catastrophic in her world."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "You know, that is the same for me - except for me when I've spanked her. Suddenly, the tough little spitfire turns into sobbing little girl trying to get out of punishment."

"Discipline."

"What?"

Gibbs blinked, then shook his head with a smile on his face. "I'm so used to correcting the wording of my team. Remember, discipline is teaching."

Jenny smiled. "Of course. Feel free to correct me if I confuse those terms again. I will try to help in reaffirming that with Ziva."

"Thank you."

Jenny went to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water. "So, you did not tell me - how did Ziva react to being spanked by you?"

"Protested a little. Tried to stall. Hated giving me answers. I only gave her eight with my hand over her pants. She definitely did not like it, wanted to run to her room."

Jenny set the empty glass on the counter. "Well, that is normal. She will only take comfort when she decides that she is ready." Jenny walked over to him. "Perhaps we should tell Ducky about her different reactions. I'm sure that he would have an explanation."

Gibbs leaned forward, paused for a second, then placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"Thanks, Jen," he whispered. "I ... wouldn't know what to do without you."

She stepped back and shook her head with amusement.

"You flatter me."

"I should."

"I'll go up and check on her. You said that she was sleeping?"

Gibbs nodded. "She was sleeping when I came down to let you in."

"Then you get a cup of coffee and I'll make sure that she is okay."

...

Jenny entered the room. A sympathetic smile crossed her face as she saw Ziva, sprawled across the bed on her tummy.

"Oh, sweetheart," she whispered, gently lifting a curl off of her cheek to reveal the tear streaks. Jenny leaned in to kiss Ziva's forehead, but before she could, Ziva jerked and her eyes began to slowly open.

"Shh, shh. Bad dreams, darling?" Jenny soothed, experienced in this situation.

"Ima?"

The word was whispered so quietly that it was barely detectable, but Jenny's heart twisted. How many times had she heard a half-asleep Ziva mutter that word hopefully? She had lost count a long time ago. Jenny turned away so that she would not have to see the brokenness in her dear one's face once she realized that it was just Jenny.

_I do not even think that she knows what she is saying or thinking at those times. Her subconscious is so desperate for the figure of love in her life. She did not deserve this ..._

"Jenny?"

"Yes, Ziva, I'm here."

"Jenny!" The small cry was desperate as Ziva began to sit up, kicking away the blanket that Gibbs had protectively spread over her.

Jenny leaned over and looked Ziva in the eye, reaching for her hand and squeezing it comfortingly.

"I'm right here, sweetie, I'm right here."

Ziva blinked and tears pooled in her eyes.

"Jenny!"

"Yes, yes, what is it?"

Jenny sat down and held out her arms. Ziva pushed herself up so that she was sitting on the bed, paused, then leaned into the offered hug.

"I ... he ... did he tell ... oh!"

Jenny gently rocked Ziva.

"You got a spanking," she stated, not hint of judgment in her voice.

Ziva struggled back out of the hug.

"He ... he told you! I did not want you to know!"

Jenny pulled the distraught Ziva back into her embrace. Ziva was stiff, angry, but Jenny gently rubbed her back and felt Ziva begin to relax.

"Calm, Zi, calm."

"But ...!"

"No, Little One. I am going to tell you something and it very important. I need you to listen. When you are at Gibbs' house, I will know what is going on, and when you are under my care, he will know what is going on. We are partners, Ziva, and more than that, we share a common interest in keeping you safe and happy."

Jenny could feel Ziva shaking her head vehemently. Jenny rolled her eyes, pleased that Ziva could not see the amusement on her face as she sternly scolded.

"Ziva! This is the way things are going to be. Now, why don't you inform me about why you had to be spanked?"

_Of course, I do not really need to know. Jethro already told me, and I would always trust his account more than my distraught Ziva's._

Ziva yanked away and glared at Jenny reproachfully.

"I did not have to be!" Ziva snapped. "Gibbs just did it."

_Try a new technique. Hmm..._

"Did he tell you why? That would very wrong of him to discipline you without any reason or explanation."

Ziva drew a quick, frustrated breath between her teeth, then dropped her eyes.

"I went outside."

"Ah," Jenny said with understanding. She smiled gently as she tilted Ziva's chin up to look at her. "So you know what you did wrong. You broke a rule."

"Only one!"

Jenny was not to be distracted but the noisy protest.

"So you earned that spanking. Now, why were you worried that I found out? No, Zi, don't look away. I am not upset, not at all. Did you think that I was going to pu... discipline you as well?"

"Maybe," Ziva replied, continuing to look away from Jenny.

"Ziva, as I mentioned the other day, I know how a spanking feels. I ... know ... how it feels from ... Gibbs ... and trust me, dear, I don't believe you need anything else. You have been spanked and _forgiven_. Please do not disobey again. Now we move on with our day. Do you understand?"

Ziva's confused glance proved that she did not, despite her quick nod. Jenny sighed, but kissed Ziva's forehead instead of confronting her.

"Now, is your bottom still hurting?"

"Yes!" Ziva said indignantly.

_It doesn't,_ Jenny thought, amused. _She is just still too upset to realize that she is fine. If it was still really hurting she would not have been sitting easily for the last few minutes. _

Jenny leaned over and began to fluff one of Ziva's pillows.

...

Ziva's indignance drooped into confusion. Where was the sympathy? She had just said that her bottom was still hurting - and Jenny was more concerned about the pillows then about her! She had thought Jenny was nicer than that. Even though she had been scolding just moments earlier, it had all been done with hugs and reassuring contact. She WAS right! Gibbs must be making Jenny mean. That Gibbs! He was so ...

"Then if you are still feeling a little sore, why don't you lie down and nap a little more?" Jenny suggested. "And maybe this will help."

Ziva's eyes grew big as she saw what Jenny was holding.

_Peanut! _

"Where did you find that?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant, despite wanting to grab it and hug it to her chest. After all, ninja assassins did NOT need teddy bears.

"I brought it here with your other things," Jenny said knowingly, holding out the squished bear. "I thought that you might like him in your pillow here since this is where you are for awhile."

"I did not realize," Ziva murmured, taking the bear and smoothing the fur out of its eyes. She jerked her gaze up and set the bear to the side. "Not that I need him," she offered quickly to Jenny, who was still watching.

_Why can she not go help Gibbs? _

"I know you are a strong girl," Jenny said, kissing her forehead once again before whispering, "but it is okay to be gentle as well."

Ziva did not reply in either word or body language.

...

Jenny smiled internally. She could tell that she was no longer wanted.

"Nap until supper, Zi. I'll come get you then."

"Not tired," Ziva immediately replied.

_Some things never change. _

Jenny shook her head in amusement as she chose to walk away from the feisty girl. She knew that, despite her words, Ziva would be asleep in minutes.

...

Ziva waited until she heard Jenny start going down the stairs to the living room before snatching Peanut into her arms.

"I wanted you," she whispered, hugging the stuffed bear against her chest as she squirmed underneath of the covers. Then, as she always had over the last few years, whenever Jenny had given her any form of discipline, Ziva fell asleep with the furry comfort - a tangible reminder of love - safe within her arms.

...

"She okay?"

Jenny smiled at the oh-so-predictable question.

"She is more than okay. She is learning and she might not like it, but she is in a good place. Trust me. Now let's make a dinner that she won't fight about eating."

Gibbs shrugged carelessly, but Jenny could read the relief in his face as he joked, "Well, if you believe in miracles ...!"

...

**Please review! **


	15. Chapter 15 - Forgiveness and Fresh Days

**Yay! Another chapter! **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for the editing encouragement. And thanks to the reviewers - Troubled-Angel-26, DS2010, HappyGuest, Dalm, Nat, A (I hope that this chapter will suffice!), and KrisShannon. **

**Enjoy, readers! And please remember to review when you are finished! **

**...**

Ziva blinked as she woke up, grumbling a little under her breath as she came to the sudden realization that she had taken not one, but two naps that afternoon!

"And I am not even tired and they keep making me sleep!" she muttered aloud.

"Of course you're not tired," Jenny replied sarcastically from the door. Ziva turned to her with a grumpy scowl. "Oh, none of that," Jenny scolded lightly, a smile brightening her face. "Come on, it is time for supper."

"Not hungry," Ziva tossed out the tired phrase, while simultaneously crawling out of the bed and swiping at her face with the corner of a blanket.

"I will go downstairs. Gibbs and I are expecting you in the next five minutes," Jenny said with finality.

Ziva jerked her fingers through her curls, then hid Peanut in her pillow case again. No need for Gibbs to learn about another reason to see her as a child. She would have to make sure to get Jenny to promise to not tell her boss that she still clung to the rather loved stuffed animal. Being spanked for being seen as disobedient was hard enough. Being looked upon as being sensitive and weak would be worse.

...

Ziva stood at the top of her stairs, her stomach twisting a little at the thought of having to go back down and face Gibbs. She had been punished by others before, but this was different. This time was the first time in years that she had been corrected by someone who she fully respected, valuing their opinion of her.

_He will never trust me again_, she mourned quietly.

"Zi!"

A glance at her watch revealed that her five minutes had passed. Slowly she began the trek to the kitchen.

...

Gibbs sighed quietly as he saw Ziva drag her feet down the stairs, eyes averted.

_She's ashamed._

Gibbs nodded Jenny toward the table as Ziva dragged herself into a chair.

"Let's eat," he said with as much cheerfulness as he could muster. Jenny's raised brows showed her amusement at his attempt. He shot a glare at her, then smiled at Ziva. Too bad she was not looking to receive the rare, physical expression of love.

_This is going to be a long night._

"Water, Ziver?"

...

"Yes, please," Ziva responded, taking her seat as Gibbs placed a glass of water next to her plate. Suddenly she recognized the scent of her favourite comfort meal.

_Chicken, latkes and soup with matzo balls? Why is Gibbs eating a Jewish meal?_

"We hope you enjoy. We tried to get the food right, but we did not have much time to learn the recipes," Jenny offered, serving Ziva a bowl of the steaming soup.

Ziva froze as she finally looked at Gibbs, glancing between the two self-appointed guardians.

_They did this ... for me._

...

"Let's eat," Gibbs said gruffly.

"Hmm hmm," Jenny coughed lightly. Gibbs looked at her, then bowed his head.

"Let's pray. God, bless this food. Protect us always. Take care of friends and family. Amen," Gibbs prayed awkwardly. He prayed a lot more than anyone would guess, but it was generally a mental thanks or petition for one kid or the other. He was not used to praying out loud. However, that fact did not seem to bother either of ladies at the table. Jenny was beaming contentedly while Ziva, eyes still down, was nibbling at a matzo ball.

"Okay, Ziva?" he asked, hoping to make eye contact with her once, to make sure that the large brown eyes were looking at him and not some monster. But Ziva's head remained down as she dipped the spoon into the flavourful broth once again.

"Yes, it tastes fine," she whispered.

Gibbs rolled his eyes at Jenny, who did a slight shrug.

The rest of dinner was silent. At least Ziva was eating. She was even eating willingly, with no scrambled vegetables or splashed water.

_At least that much is an improvement_, Gibbs mused. He reached over and placed another latke on Ziva's plate. At her startled look her smiled soothingly.

"There's plenty more."

...

"I will do the dishes," Ziva offered, standing as soon as Gibbs announced that it was time to clear the table. After being disciplined by her father's orders she was always forced to do any undesirable tasks. She expected nothing different of Gibbs. There was no need for him to order her around. She step up on her own.

"I didn't give you that as a chore," Gibbs said simply, taking the plate from her hands and setting it on the table again.

"I will do it," Ziva repeated. She did not need Gibbs to make it a chore. She was quite eager to stay out of his bad graces for the evening.

"Jen, Tony has a dvd player in the living room. I don't know how to run it, but maybe you would know?"

"That shouldn't be too hard," Jenny replied, her tone light - too light for the tension Ziva was feeling.

"Great. Ziva will be right in to help find a movie."

Ziva heard Jenny's light steps leave the kitchen, then felt herself being turned around by Gibbs' strong hand on her back.

"I will do the work, I will!" she protested feebly.

"That's not what I want. Now, Jen and I cleaned as we worked. There is barely anything to be done. I'm going to wash up these dishes which will only take a few minutes. You are going to go help Jenny choose a movie. She likes romantic ones, so maybe you can speak reason to her. Go on."

Ziva stood still. He was telling her ...?

"Ziver," Gibbs sighed. Ziva grimaced, hating the upward tip of her face as Gibbs' finger rested under her chin. Her eyes reluctantly met his.

"Are you still upset about the spanking?" he asked, point blank.

Ziva tried to pull away, but he stopped her.

"It was only a spanking. You were naughty, I disciplined you, and now you're forgiven." His eyes softened. "I'm not angry, Ziva, not at all. I never was. I was disappointed and upset that you did not listen, and I was sad that I had to discipline you, but that is all over. The only things I feel right now about you are pride and love."

_Pride?! _

Gibbs must have caught the confusion in her gaze.

"You decided to be brave enough to tell me that you had broken a rule and gone outside. I did not have to go looking for the truth myself. YOU told me, even though you knew that you had broken a rule. I know that would have been hard, especially since it was the first time you knew that I might spank you. I'd be scared if it was me and I wasn't sure how I was going to be disciplined by someone new. That's why I am so proud. You're very brave, Ziver."

_This is silly. Why am I feeling so good about what he is saying? I was not brave! I was disobedient and scared but ... it DOES feel nice for him to say that. _

A kiss on her cheek broke her away from her confusing thoughts.

"And I love you. That's why you are forgiven. Trust me, this is over. Unless you choose to break that rule again, we don't need to talk about this anymore, unless you want to."

Ziva flushed. She would NEVER want to talk about that humiliating experience! _EVER! _

"Now, you go choose a movie. I'll be right in."

...

The next morning Ziva woke to the sound of whistling. She smiled at the happy tune, then she remembered the previous day - the disobedience, the spanking, and the myriad of confusing emotions afterwards.

_Oh! And he will be home all day today! _

Her face flushed with shame.

"Morning, Ziva. Breakfast time," Gibbs hollered upstairs from the kitchen.

_And he will not leave me here to ... not pout ... what would be a good word for ...?_

"Come on, Zi! We have places to go!"

THAT perked Ziva's attention.

_Places?!_

She quickly dressed and hurried down the stairs, pausing to peer around the wall at Gibbs who was setting a plate of pancakes on the table.

_Does he look mad? He was nice last night after supper, but after I went to bed Jenny went home. Maybe he was just being nice because she was here. Maybe he is still upset! _

"When you are done of spying, please come eat these pancakes before they get cold," Gibbs said drily, turning back to the stove. "Want some eggs?"

Ziva tightened her lips, unhappy that her hiding position had been found, but she slid out from behind the wall and reluctantly moved toward the table. She warily watched Gibbs as she took her seat, but he seemed oblivious to the scrutinizing gaze on his back.

"Eggs?"

Ziva nodded. "Yes, please."

"One, two, three?"

"One."

"Okay." Gibbs turned and smiled at her. "Eat up! We're heading out in an hour."

Ziva relaxed a little at the kind look and tone. "Where?" she asked, spreading butter on her pancakes.

Gibbs hesitated before stating, "For a meeting with one of Ducky's friends."

Ziva stiffened until she had the flexibility of a bar of iron.

"I will NOT see a doctor or psychiatrist!" she shouted.

_I do not care about any rules! He can get as mad as he likes. I am not going! _

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her, a clear motion for her to calm herself.

"Jackie isn't a psychiatrist or medical doctor - she's a therapist. Ducky made an appointment, and we're going to keep it."

Seeing the thunderstorm embodied in his youngest agent, Gibbs shook his head.

"It's just a meeting at Ducky's house. No office, no obligations, just a little talk, okay?"

Ziva locked gazes with him, anger blazing. She deliberately dropped her fork onto the plate before stalking away.

...

"Hey! Stop!" Gibbs barked out the order as she reached the doorway to the living room. He smiled a little as she paused - even in her anger, her training was strong enough to make her listen to what he had to say. Feeling rather like he was bribing a toddler with cookies, he lightened his tone.

"If you let Jackie talk to you for fifteen minutes, and if you let Ducky check you over and he gives the okay, we'll go for a walk in the woods near his house, okay?"

_I hope she listens! I do not want to have a repeat of yesterday on my hands. _

...

Ziva struggled internally. She did NOT want to talk to any therapist, and she did NOT want Ducky poking at her. Neither did she really want to go for a walk with Gibbs. She wanted to go back to work, stay at her apartment, go for runs by herself, and pretend that nothing bad ever happened to her. Unfortunately, she sensed that her options were limited.

"Your egg's done. Come eat."

Ziva was a second away from rushing out of the front door, away from the old eggs and pancakes, but she spotted the couch just then. Remembering the rather unpleasant moments there yesterday, she rethought her choices. Yes, Gibbs seemed to be ... "forgiving" about yesterday, but how would he react if she pushed him again today? It was a confusing situation, but not one that she felt compelled to explore so soon. Suddenly a walk in the woods sounded too good to pass up - she did not want to miss out on her first chance to go outside and get some real exercise.

With a shuffled kick at the floor, Ziva reluctantly turned around and took her seat again.

"How long of a walk?" she asked cautiously.

"Long enough to make it worth your while," Gibbs assured her with a knowing smile.

"You ... promise?" Ziva asked hesitantly as Gibbs flipped the perfectly cooked egg onto her plate.

Gibbs sat down at his seat and started pouring himself a glass of juice. He smiled confidently at her.

"I promise."

...

**Please review! Trust me, I can see the reading numbers and the ratio to reviews is extremely low. That makes writers very, very sad. :'( Please remember to let the authors of your reading material know that you appreciate their work! **


	16. Chapter 16 - Tempermental Therapy

**Goodness! I posted this without thanking my readers and reviewers from the last chapter. I'll have to update. Thanks to Hunter of Artemis15, Troubled-Angel-26, AmyV24, Queenofwheels (I loved that comment!), Guest, second Guest, Tamara, Fashionista-gril, Hippiechic81 (who has some interesting stories for those looking for some good Abby stories), fiftyshadeswritergal, Mindless Creations, A (I will try to use that idea in the next chapter, as she doesn't quite get there yet in this chapter), xstargirlx123, DS2010, Fan, HappyGuest, KirsShannon, TobyCat, and the third Guest. I appreciate hearing from each of you! **

**For anyone who likes the show "Bull" (Michael Weatherly's project after NCIS), I have started a new story called "The Finding of Cable". It's an experiment in writing for that show. There were barely any stories with Cable McCrory, my favourite character, so I had to fix that! Anyway, if you are interested in something new, check that out. A second chapter should be up later this week. **

**For now, ENJOY! **

**...**

Ziva huffed loudly enough for Gibbs - who was having coffee with Ducky in the next room - to hear her. He sent her a stern look through the open door, clearing communicating his displeasure at her difficult attitude.

_Only one and half minutes left!_ she mouthed from where she was seated with Jackie.

Gibbs ignored her clock-watching, mouthing back, _Be good!_

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"I hope that Jackie is truly up to managing her. Ziva is a handful when she gets in these moods of hers," Gibbs grumbled to Ducky.

"I can imagine," Ducky sympathized. "But Jackie is the best. She has worked with every scenario, from PTSD survivors to child trauma intervention."

"Really?"

Ducky's eyes twinkled. "See? No matter what mood Ziva decides to pull, Jackie will be able to work with her."

Gibbs smiled, looking at the discontent Ziva who's eyes were firmly glued to the clock on the mantle.

"You know Ziva, Duck. She loves being a surprise."

...

Once the second hand reached twelve, signalling her fifteen minutes were finished, Ziva stood and began walking away. She was so tired of listening to Jackie. All she needed from a therapist was for someone to say, "Nice to meet you. You are fine. Good bye." Was that what Jackie was doing? Oh, no! She was trying to "get to know" Ziva, asking so many personal questions - everything from if she was having a good day to what kind of relationship she had with her family to if she enjoyed working at NCIS.

_I know the plans and tricks of someone like her!_

Ziva had been as unpleasant as she could be without having Gibbs rush in to intervene. He was stationed about six yards away, chatting with Ducky. She knew he was there to make her behave - she hated that. She hated talking to Jackie. She hated not being allowed to deal with things that way that she had always done before ... before these people worked their ways into her heart.

_Not that I have a heart._

...

"Ziva?" Jackie's voice was questioning. Gibbs turned to see the young agent hurrying out of the room as quickly as possible without actually running.

_She waited until she had been in there for exactly fifteen minutes on the second!_

The thought filled him with more amusement than was helpful.

"Ziva!" he said sternly. "Go back and finish with Jackie!"

"I was there for fifteen minutes," she said firmly, jutting out her chin in the slightest. "I did it. Now I want to go for a walk. You promised!"

"Ziva, stop being rude to Jackie, who took time out of her day to ..."

"It's fine," the older African American woman with a gentle face said, stepping out of the room to join the others. She only smiled at Ziva's blatant turning of her back. The action that was irritating Gibbs seemed to be amusing to her.

_I work with "children" all the time_, she mouthed behind Ziva's conveniently turned back. Gibbs could not help it. He chuckled. Ziva snapped around, knowing that she was missing something.

"What?" she demanded.

"Oh, nothing," Jackie said with a sweet smile. "I'll see you on Thursday, Ziva - two days from now."

"Wait! No! I will not ...!"

"...make a scene," Gibbs finished sternly, leaning in as he administered the whispered, yet stern, warning. "I will not be going for a walk with someone throwing a tantrum."

"I am not ...!" Ziva began haughtily, then noticing the smirk on Gibbs' face she adjusted her tone, switching to hissing between her teeth. "I am NOT throwing a tantrum. And I do not need to go for a walk with you."

"Then you can stay here with Ducky."

It was a clear ultimatum and Gibbs knew Ziva could take it either way. Thankfully, she seemed to realize that Jackie was still in the room and, not wanting any witnesses to being "grounded" from her promised and much-anticipated walk, she gritted her teeth and turned to Ducky.

"I feel fine!"

Gibbs sighed. Ducky could deal with her now for the next few minutes - already the ME was convincing Ziva that he would need to check over her wound before sanctioning any walks. Gibbs motioned toward the door and Jackie nodded. He would see her out.

"Sorry for that," he muttered, holding her bag for her as she slipped on a shawl.

"As I said, nothing that I cannot handle or am not used to on a daily basis!"

"So how is she really?" he asked as they stepped outside and he closed the door behind them.

"I'm sure that you understand doctor/patient confidentiality," Jackie said firmly, "but I did talk to Ziva about it and she gave permission for me to talk to Donald, you, and also a Miss Jenny Shepard, about her condition. She said that this is concern in her work environment and she is not allowed to return to the field until she gets cleared by a psychiatrist."

Gibbs nodded. "And Jenny, the director of the agency and also a sort of mother-figure to Ziva, knows that she can trick any psychiatrist's testing. Part of her training. That's why Jenny's insisting she actually get help before being tested."

Jackie smiled.

"Thankfully, I have also had training - in how to trick those trying to trick me into talking."

"I'll talk to Ziva about how it, but I just need you one question - can she get better?"

"Even today, with her lack of participation, along with what my friend Donald told me while convincing me to take her on as a client, I have been able to learn a lot about how to help her." Jackie paused and turned to him, lifting her hand to pat his cheek. "Do not look so sad, Agent Gibbs. There is hope - abundant hope - for dear, hurting Ziva."

"I'm counting on it," Gibbs said with a weary sigh. Raised voices from inside the house drew his attention. "I've ..."

"Go on," Jackie said with a smile. "And for what it's worth, with people such as whom Donald assures me are now involved in this girl's life, I believe that her healing process should go even better than to be initially expected. Trust me when I say that her allowing me to talk to you and Donald and Jenny - that was not really about work. She may act tough, but she wants you and your help and most importantly, your love."

"She said that?" Gibbs asked in surprise.

"I'm sure that you already know that she didn't. I could just sense it - strongly. Now go on, give her some of that love and get her to calm down."

Gibbs graced her with a rare smile, then headed back into the house to convince the loudly protesting Ziva that letting Ducky examine her truly WAS part of their agreement.

**...**

**So, I would love to hear your ideas? Do you think that Ziva will let Ducky check her? I have an idea of what is going to happen next, but if any spectacularly great ideas come in, I might just change my mind! **


	17. Chapter 17 - A Walk and A Water Fight

**Hi, everyone! Sorry that it has been awhile since an update on this story. Thanksgiving, papers, midterms, etc.. This is an extra long chapter, so hopefully that will help make it up to you! **

**Thanks to AmyV24 (great suggestion, which I partially used as you will see!), Troubled-Angel-26, Queenofwheels, DS2010, Fan, HappyGuest, Tamara, fiftyshadeswritergal (thanks for the "go ahead" on the editing side!), Guest (great prompt; I'll be considering it!), and a second Guest! It means a lot to hear from all of you! Make sure to read to the end. I'll be asking for suggestions at the bottom! **

**Today I updated my profile page with all of my stories. There are notes on what I order I see my NCIS stories in, as well as which ones are current projects (at the moment, this story and "The Finding of Cable" are my two main stories! If you haven't read my story and are a fan of "Bull" - or are interested in a new show to watch - check it out! I started watching NCIS because of the fanfiction; for readers, this site is a great way to find new shows!)!**

**Now, enjoy this nearly-twice-as-long-as-normal chapter! **

**...**

Gibbs entered the room, expecting to have to broker a peace between the doctor and the ninja. He was pleasantly surprised that Ziva was sitting quietly. She was rolling her eyes at Ducky's concern, but she did not say a word.

"The caramels are delicious, are they not?" Ducky asked. Ziva nodded.

That explains that.

"She okay, Duck?"

"Of course. I am just going to check her wound and clean it. Maybe you could step out for a moment for us to have some privacy?"

"My side is fine!" Ziva protested.

"Would you like some more of those caramels?"

Gibbs had to stifle his guffaw at Ducky's techniques.

_I will have to try that with Tony. _

...

Half an hour later - the delay due to Ducky insisting that they have tea before they left, during which he extensively lectured Ziva on proper care for the cut, which apparently she had not been providing to his standards - Gibbs and Ziva were finally able to head out into the woods for their walk. Ziva had pulled away from him as soon as she was outside. Gibbs had never been so grateful for one of his kids to have an injury; he knew that it was probably all that kept her from running away. He walked behind her, letting her stalk along as quickly as she could. At least at first. Eventually he could see the subtle signs of her relaxing. Her stiffened shoulders began to relax, her face became soft, her pace slowed a little.

"The woods are beautiful here, aren't they?" he mentioned. Although he was not much for small talk, he knew that it was important to get Ziva talking about something, anything.

"They are," she replied simply.

_At least she's not snappy anymore. _

"You like Jackie?"

Ziva frowned a little, but it was more thoughtful than angry. "She was fine," she muttered after a minute of reflection.

"You'll be seeing her on Tuesdays and Thursdays according to the schedule Duck and Jen want you to follow." He paused, noting the returning tension.

_Find a way to make this her choice. _

"But if you wanted to change to one of the NCIS therapists, I'm sure that could work. They might even be able to meet with you three or four times week until you are ready to head back to work."

Ziva shook her curls wildly. "I choose to stay with Jackie. It might hurt Ducky's feelings if I said no."

"Good choice. Then next time she can do a full session."

"How long is that?" Ziva questioned suspiciously.

"Sessions are usually around an hour."

Ziva huffed. "You will make me do it whether I want to or not."

"Yeah. For your own good."

Ziva huffed again and jogged for a few steps before she winced from the pain. Gibbs obligingly fell back once more, letting her walk away.

...

After five miles, the path lead them back to the start of the circuit near Ducky's backyard. Ziva had said very little but she was looking a little more like herself.

"Enjoyed?" Gibbs asked. She willingly looked him in the face for the first time without a challenge since the spanking. She smiled and nodded.

"Thank you," she said hesitantly.

"Want to do it again on Thursday?"

"I like walking off the paths better."

"I know, but until your cut is fully healed, I'd prefer we stay on the paths."

Ziva shrugged. "I guess we could do it, but we should take the other path. The same short ones again and again get too boring."

Gibbs smiled. "Agreed."

...

By the time they got back to Gibbs' house, it was lunchtime. And sitting on the porch with a picnic basket, waiting for them, was Abby.

"Hi, Ziva!" she called excitedly. "Oh, Ziva, Ziva, Ziva, I brought a picnic! Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs! Come have some of the sandwiches, and then could we look at those plans again? I want to help you build my bed!"

Gibbs could see that on top of the stress of talking to Jackie that morning, the walk had been a lot more tiring than Ziva had expected. He knew how it was, to be so tired of emotions that it took all of the body's energy. He was not sure if having an over-hyper Abby around a nearly-exhausted Ziva would be a good idea.

"Thank you, Abby," Ziva said. "I will take one of your sandwiches."

Ziva took one of the sandwiches, brightly wrapped in a reusuable sandwich wrap printed with pumpkins and bats.

"This looks very good. Thank you," Ziva said, then headed for the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Up to my room."

"What? But picnics are for outside!" Abby protested.

"If Ziva wants to eat outside, she can. If she wants to eat inside, she can. But I'll eat with you and we can decide on a design," Gibbs intervened. Abby looked discontentedly at Ziva, who was still standing next to the door, cautiously accessing the conversation. Gibbs nodded to her. "You are welcome to stay, Zi, but if you want to go in that's fine too."

Ziva seemed to relax a little at the permission and went inside without a word. Gibbs ignored the fact that he knew she was going to be eating on her bed instead of in the kitchen. For now, he had to focus on his incredibly excitable Abby. A glance in her car window revealed what he suspected - multiple Caf-Pow! cups.

"Abby, are we going to have to have another discussion about you driving under the influence of caffeine?"

...

Up in her room, Ziva was nibbling on the sandwich and trying to decide what she would do to amuse herself that afternoon. She doubted that Gibbs would let her go on another walk and he definitely would not put up with her complaining about going back to work. She thought about climbing out of the window and just going there by herself, but the thought of how Jenny would react - no doubt that she would eventually find out about it - had her shifting nervously. Maybe she could read. Yes, reading would be relaxing.

Ziva set aside the crusts of the sandwich - Abby must have toasted the bread for a little too long - and took her book from the nightstand.

_Lying down would feel more comfortable. I am not tired. It is simply more comfortable. _

She managed two pages before she replaced the book and gave in to the demands of her body. A short nap would not hurt.

...

Gibbs went inside after Abby left, promising to be back soon to help him build her new bed from their design. He headed upstairs to check on Ziva. He could not help but smile when he saw her sprawled out on her bed with the remainder of the sandwich. He gently removed it and brushed the crumbs into his hand. He did not want ants up here - the reason he outlawed eating except for in the kitchen or occasionally in the living room. But today had not been the time to stop Ziva.

At least she's sleeping without getting worked up about it.

...

Ziva woke two hours later - the noise of Tony shouting his greetings from the door.

_I will kill him. _

...

Gibbs heard Tony burst into the house.

_I will kill him if he wakes Ziva. She will be so grumpy that she will be unbearable. _

The stomps on the stairs, surprisingly heavy for someone as small as she was, made him change his mind.

_Nah. She'll kill him herself. _

...

"Hey, Ziva!" Tony said cheerfully. He paused, his smile faltering as Ziva glared at him. Then she swept past on her way to the kitchen when Gibbs was. She ignored both of them, grabbing a glass of water, thirsty from eating and then sleeping.

"Aren't you going to say 'hello', Zee-vah?" Tony teased, following along. "Lost your manners? Because I'm sure Gibbs could help you find them again. You keep the wooden spoons out here, don't ya, Boss?"

That was that. Ziva was in no mood to be teased. She spun around with the glass of water and threw it in Tony's face.

...

Gibbs internally groaned as he saw all of the work at getting Ziva to calm down go up in smoke - or rather, down in water droplets.

"You ... you!" Tony protested.

Ziva smirked victoriously, turning to pour herself another glass of water.

Gibbs took a deep breath. If he did not intervene ...

"ZIVA! You ruined my shirt!" Tony yelled.

"I do not care," Ziva shot back at him.

"Gibbs!" Tony appealed.

"Ziva," Gibbs sighed wearily. She did not look at him, focusing her eyes on her water glass. Gibbs turned back to Tony. "Tony, just stop teasing her."

"What? Wait! _She_ throws water all over me and somehow _I'm_ the bad guy?! If I did that to her, you'd be paddling the daylights out of me! And all she gets is ..."

"You were saying that he should punish me for something you did!" Ziva protested angrily. Tony flicked some of the water droplets dripping off of his hands onto her. "Stop that, Tony!"

" I was saying that he was letting you get away with stuff that I never ..."

"QUIET!" Gibbs bellowed. The two agents turned to him. Tony had the decency to look a little ashamed. Ziva was just blazing angry. Gibbs had to admit to himself that he had no clue how a simple stop-by visit had turned into such a disaster literally within two minutes of Tony parking in the driveway. And he had absolutely no clue how to deal with the two standing in front of him.

"Ziva, room," he said wearily. "Tony, I think maybe you should visit another time."

"But, Gibbs!" they protested in unison, stopping to glare at one another.

"NO."

"But it is not my fault!"

"She started it, Boss!"

"He teased me about ..."

"She threw water on my ..."

"ZIVA! TONY!"

The two miscreants finally silenced.

"You are both to blame. Apologize, then Ziva, room, and Tony, car. We can try this again tomorrow if you are both done fighting by then, but you've used all your chances for today."

Ziva crossed her arms but remained silent. Tony, however ...

"But, Boss, if I had done that ..."

"Tony," Gibbs broke in, forcing himself to keep a calm tone as he firmly stated, "I thought that you knew where I keep the wooden spoons."

Tony froze and flushed deeply at the quote-turned-rebuke. Ziva was still upset but seemed a little mollified as Gibbs continued with, "I didn't think that you would like that sort of threat either."

Tony gave a half smile. "Yeah. I guess not." He turned to Ziva. "Sorry, Ziva," he offered.

Ziva looked at him carefully for a moment, then nodded. "That is okay."

"And?" Gibbs prompted.

"Sorry."

It was muttered and muted, but an apology. And it was likely as good as he was going to get from her today. Gibbs was satisfied.

"Go on, Tony," he said much more kindly, motioning to the door. "We'll see you tomorrow when everyone has had time to calm down."

"Okay. What kind of pizza do you want tomorrow, Ziva? I can bring supper."

Ziva looked like she would ignore the peace offering, but relented at Tony's charming smile.

"Vegetables. No ham or bacon! And lots of cheese!"

"Got it," Tony said. He moved forward and brushed a few water drops out of her curls before stepping back and grinning at her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

...

Gibbs kept a close eye on Ziva. Although she seemed to have managed to forgive Tony, she was still tense. Her movements were sharper, her words slightly more clipped, her eyes darting between Gibbs and the list of rules.

And by the time Jenny knocked for Gibbs to come open the door so she could bring in the crock pot containing supper, Ziva's battle plan was obvious.

She was going to test those rules to the fullest extent that she could.

It was going to be a long time until Thursday when Jackie could try to help the girl heal. Until then, he was going to have to deal with her himself.

And from the attitude with which she sat down at the table, he could only imagine how that was going to go.

...

**So, I would love to hear your opinions! What do you think that Ziva will do to try to test the boundaries? I know what some of them will be but I would love to hear your ideas since I do need a bit more inspiration for the next chapter! **

**Also, do any of you watch NCIS: Los Angeles? If so, what kind of stories would you like to see from that show? I'm thinking of diving in on that fandom soon. ;) **


	18. Chapter 18 - Carrots and Confusion

**Hi, everyone! Here is our chapter of the week! **

**Later on this week, make sure to keep an eye on fiftyshadeswritergal's page for a Halloween reunion with Abby and Quinta! Yep, we're co-writing again! :D :D So exciting! **

**Thanks for the reviews everyone - namely, Nat84, Troubled-Angel-26, HappyGuest, fiftyshadeswritergal, S (I think that you will enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the ideas!), Tamara, A, Fan (keep an eye open; I'm planning on using one of those, so was glad that you suggested it!), KrisShannon, DS2010, and Emmakhat01. I appreciate hearing from all of you! **

**Now, please enjoy!**

**...**

Ziva stabbed at the cooked carrots, again and again, slowly destroying piece after piece. Jenny and Gibbs were engaged in small talk.

_Ha! As if I will not know what they are doing, even with Gibbs actually talking without a necessary reason!_

"Are you planning on eating any of that?" Jenny asked.

"That would be none of your business," Ziva replied calmly, even though she was trembling inside. Two frowns met her impudence. She braced herself for the blow she fully expected.

...

Gibbs sighed as he saw the tiniest movement in Ziva's facial muscles.

_Oh, she is good at hiding her reactions but she isn't completely passive._

He had seen the tiniest flinch.

_If I could get at her father! I can only imagine what Jenny must feel like dealing with him on a regular basis. And Jenny's feelings might be very aggravated right now..._

He reached over and grabbed Jenny's hand under the table. A casual glance at her face revealed some tension of her own, but she squeezed his hand in response before slowly replying to Ziva.

"Thank you for being so open and honest, Ziva. Please remember that courtesy is appreciated."

...

_What does that mean?_

Ziva did not know why Jenny and Gibbs were smiling at each other and she did not like it.

"You can start on the dishes if you are done," Gibbs added. Ziva frowned.

_Are they trying to punish me for something?_

"You did not want my help yesterday," she noted suspiciously.

"I did not want you to think that helping with household chores was part of your discipline," Gibbs explained. "Tonight I think it would be nice to have your help. You go ahead. Jen and I will finish up here and clean up the rest of the kitchen, then we can watch another movie like last night ..."

"That was very boring," Ziva interrupted. "I am planning on going for a walk instead."

...

This time it was Gibbs' turn to be stopped by Jenny grabbing his hand under the table.

"Not tonight, Ziva," she stepped in to his relief, cutting off the plans of the rebellious young lady. "You can choose something to do inside of the house. You are smart. I'm sure that you will find something to keep you busy."

Ziva's expression just dared them to say anything else.

_Yep, this is going to be a bad week. I don't see myself having time to work on the boat for the next few nights. I think making a paddle for little Miss Ziva will be a much more necessary project._

"Go start the dishes," he said firmly.

...

Ziva could not remember the last time that she had so openly engaged in active defiance of everything that a leader told her to do. She was not even sure if it had happened to this extent. She liked to challenge to a certain extent, but this was different. This time it was not just about a job. If so, she would have stopped right after she began out of fear of being fired. Yet here she was, in front of both of her bosses, readily engaging in a battle of wills, not over her job but over everything else in her life.

_I am fighting with them - about carrots!_ she realized. _Why am I doing this?!_

She did not have an answer.

"Are you okay?"

Jenny's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Of course I am!" Ziva replied indignantly, grabbing her plate and dramatically going toward the sink. Several abandoned carrots fell off of the plate, rolling in every which direction. She heard a longsuffering sigh from Jenny but nothing happened. No shouting, no scolding, no order to go to her room or the couch or get out of the house.

There was a lot of testing left to do. If they would not react at this level, she would have to up her game.

Just which rule would she focus on breaking next?

_I could just walk away and refuse to do the dishes, but they are both there right behind me. I could get past them, but I do not want to end up seriously hurting either of them. I could not hurt them, not like that. I will wait until after we are in different rooms._

Ziva knocked the leftover carrots into the garbage can, jammed a stopper into the sink, and turned the water on full blast. The water splashed crazily but no one said anything. Ziva grabbed the soap bottle and poured in about four times what she needed. The soap combined with the rapidly churning water resulted in bubbles floating through the air and foaming across the surface. Ziva grabbed her plate and dropped it into the sink. The distinct shattering sound was clear above the sound of the gushing water. Ziva stood very still, hoping that Jenny and Gibbs had somehow not heard, but the movement behind her reduced her hope that it was so.

"Ziver," Gibbs said softly.

"It was an accident," she murmured softly, not expecting him to believe her. He motioned for her to step aside, then shut off the water - which was already past the level where it should have been stopped - then turned to her.

"Tonight, you'll sweep the floor instead. The broom is in the coat closet."

Ziva merely nodded and left the room. At least he would not be able to see the flush in her cheeks if she was looking at the ground. She ducked it even father as she stepped past Jenny's seat.

SWAT!

Ziva swung around to see Jenny motioning for her to come back toward her. Ziva planted her feet even more firmly.

"No," she squeaked softly.

"Stop the acting out, young lady," Jenny said in a low, controlled tone with eyes that gave no doubt as to her determination in making sure that Ziva listened. "You are walking a narrow line right now, and if you don't want to end today with another spanking, I would suggest that you clean up the attitude while you sweep the floor. Understood?"

"Perfectly," Ziva replied, trying to keep her frustration hidden while responding.

_Do they not know how upsetting it is to have to follow their stupid rules?! I have to just hold it in for now, but I will get my way later. I just need to mask it for the next fifteen minutes until I can go to my room._

...

Gibbs sighed as he took a seat on the sofa beside Jenny.

"I'm getting a headache," she whispered. He leaned back and released a long sigh before beginning a quiet conversation that Ziva could not here from her room where she was noisily stomping around while supposedly "reading".

"What is going to happen here, Jen?" he asked. "Is the only way that I'm going to prove that I will be consistent going to be by spanking her for every single rule that she can break? Because if that's so, I can't do it."

"Jethro ..."

"I can't, Jenny. If she tries to focus on breaking every rule, she's going to end up risking her health and safety at some point and that is something that I won't and can't do."

Jenny smiled and added, "But I don't know how we're going to do this without driving her crazy, her driving us crazy, or anyone getting hurt." She rubbed at her throbbing temples for emphasis.

Gibbs nodded. "I believe that spankings are an effective discipline technique, obviously. And I think that the physical action of holding her and giving her just enough of a sting to make her think twice and be able to release her emotions, in a controlled and loving environment, is just what she needs. But maybe - maybe I'm wrong. Maybe that's not how we should go with her. Maybe it'll do more harm than good."

"We are going to make an appointment with Ducky," Jenny said firmly. "I'm sure that he could give us more insight into which methods of 'parenting' would work best with Zi."

"He's going to hate it," Gibbs noted.

"Why?"

"Because he adores Ziva. He loves all of the kids, but I think that the fact both of them being from different countries originally, as well as the fact that he probably gets why she ticks better than anyone else does - well, she's special. She spends time with him a lot. Ducky and a cup of tea is the best way to refresh Ziva if she is feeling confused or upset during a case. I've noticed - especially on the days where Tony has been laughing at her best attempts at idioms."

Jenny groaned at the reminder of Ziva's slaughter of the English language. "Bless her, she tries!"

"Anyway, Duck's going to hate having to talk about anything that has to do with hurting her, even in the very least."

"But it's for her own good," Jenny reminded. "He can do things that are bad at the moment and I've seen him give needles to a panicking DiNozzo and a crying Abby, and I am fairly certain that I heard him telling Jimmy the other day that if he kept ignoring his studies he would introduce him to the disciplinary methods he had received as 'a school lad in Scotland' - although that may very well have been an empty threat, seeing how he had to immediately reassure Palmer that he was not in trouble that moment due to how pale he went."

Gibbs chuckled. "I don't think Ducky could find it in him."

"You did not hear him! He sounded very annoyed."

"Hmph!"

Gibbs rolled his eyes, but let her rest her head on his shoulder.

"Anyway, we can talk to Ducky tomorrow and ask him his opinion. My opinion, if it matters ..."

"No need to be dramatic. It always has and always will!" he assured her.

"...I think she is testing and we are both overtired. We all need sleep - although Ziva will steadfastly maintain that she does not need it, along with food or shelter or any other of the necessities of life. Then tomorrow, we can start fresh - hopefully with sweetened tempers all around. I know I need a restart."

Gibbs tenderly kissed her forehead, surprised at how seamlessly it was for him to go back to the caresses that he had used so long ago. He stopped himself, remembering how many years and broken hearts lay between now and then. But Jenny shifted, kissing his cheek gently.

"You're a good father, Jethro. Don't forget that over the next week or so. Don't shortchange Ziva because you are afraid of treating her like the others. She's a tough person with a good heart that wants to trust but doesn't know how - a little like someone else I knew a long time ago."

Gibbs fully met her gaze as he replied, "I knew someone like that too. I'm hoping she's more trusting now."

"She is."

"Good."

"And do you have any guesses about that man that I used knew with the same issue?"

"Oh, I think that he might have found some special people worth learning and teaching trust."

"Good."

Gibbs could feel Jenny's body relaxing into sleep as she leaned against him. She shifted a little, then suddenly she stiffened.

"Did you change your mind and tell Ziva that she could go outside?"

"Of course not," he laughed.

Jenny pushed herself up so she was sitting.

"Then why in the world is she outside?"

"What?" Gibbs glared out of the window. There indeed was Ziva, sitting on a tree limb, swinging her legs in the air and chomping away on an apple. He rolled his eyes upward, frustrated yet the slightest bit amused at her persistence. "She must have climbed out of the window. There's a tree next to the house. Abby and Tony have played the same trick several times."

"She is in SO much trouble!" Jenny growled ominously, heading toward the door.

"You want help?"

"Don't worry - I can handle it!"

...

**I hope that you enjoyed! Please review! **


	19. Chapter 19 - Little Miss Ziva Up a Tree

**Wahoo! I've had quite the day of posting - and it still isn't over! The celebration will continue with two more stories after this! (Ones that I adore, so I hope that you will all love them as much as I do!) **

**I couldn't have a major posting day without an update to "Echoes", my main NCIS story of the moment. So thanks to all the reviewers since last time - starie78, Troubled-Angel-26, DS2010, A, S, Ludy, KrisShannon, Fashionista-girl (two reviews on two different chapters! Yay!), and Fan! **

**Now, everyone, I hope that you enjoy! **

**...**

Ziva had been enjoying spying on Gibbs and Jenny. From the frustration in their faces it was evident that they were talking about her. She watched for the frustration to turn to anger. Once that happened, she would be vindicated in running away. But instead, their faces softened. They looked sympathetic. Oh, she hated that expression!

Due to her surveillance, Ziva had seen Jenny spot her. The redhead moved off of the couch and headed toward the door.

_Should I run? No, what is the point? Besides, Jenny can not climb this tree. I can stay here as long as I want without her actually being able to get to me._

She looked back toward the window. Gibbs had walked over to the window and was watching her carefully. He raised an eyebrow, a clear warning to obey. She looked away.

"Ziva David! Get down from there this instant!"

Ziva curled her legs up onto her branch and took another bite of her apple, ignoring Jenny. A glance at the window revealed that Gibbs was giving her the glare. She smiled. She was in control of the moment.

"Ziva!"

"Hello, Jenny," she said cheerfully. "The apples up here are very good. Would you like one?"

Jenny tightened her lips. Ziva recognized that as Jenny's "I'm-trying-to-keep-my-temper" face.

_If I can only push her a little more then she' will lose her temper. And when she loses her temper, she will refuse to discipline me right away because she is always afraid that she will hurt me. Then I can go to bed before she calms down and she will not wake me up just to spank me. I am very clever!_

Jenny began to speak again, but this time her voice was not just "controlled calm", it was deadly calm!

"Ziva, I think that it is unnecessary to tell you this, but you ARE going to get a spanking for breaking the rules and coming outside. That's breaking two rules - not going outside without permission, as well as directly disobeying when we told you earlier that you could not. Now, the only question is, do you want the spanking with my hand or with a wooden spoon? I am going to go back inside and go up to your room to wait for you. I will give you five minutes to decide. If you come back inside before the five minutes, you will only get my hand. After that ... well, I know you hate the wooden spoon but I will be forced to use it. In the meantime, enjoy your apples."

And then Jenny turned and walked away.

Ziva dropped the apple despondently as she heard the door close to the house. Her plan was falling apart. She saw Gibbs and Jenny talk for a moment, then Jenny went into the kitchen, then up the stairs. Ziva knew what she was holding.

_The spoon always hurts so much worse than her hand!_

Gibbs waved, then took a seat on the couch again. It looked like he turned on the television. Ziva bit her lip nervously. There was no justification for her to run away. There was only one choice left for her, and either way it was going to end with her over Jenny's lap getting a bedtime spanking.

Gibbs did not seem to be watching - although Ziva knew that he was. At least he was trying to give her some autonomy. And by Ziva's count, she had two minutes to get inside before Jenny would use that horrible cooking utensil on her bottom.

Sighing, she swung down from the tree.

...

Gibbs smiled from his post inside the house. He was not happy that Ziva was going to have to be disciplined, but at least she was going to accept it.

_Unless she bolts between the tree and the front door!_

He looked out the window again, hoping that he would not see her hopping the fence and disappearing. He was more relieved than he let on when the front door creaked open and a dejected Ziva stepped inside. Once she saw him she straightened and stiffened.

_Why does she have such an aversion to appearing human?!_

He could imagine Jenny quipping, _And why do you?_

"Jen's upstairs," he told the hesitating girl.

"I kn..." She cut her sassy words off abruptly. "Yes, sir," she amended meekly, taking off her shoes and then slowly heading upstairs.

_At least that's an improvement._

He tried to turn back to his movie but it could not hold his interest, not when he was too concerned about what was going on upstairs. He shut off the television set and leaned back on the sofa, listening for any clue of what was happening.

...

Ziva hesitated in the hallway outside of her room. She did not want to go in there.

"Zi?"

Jenny's soft voice held no temper, no anger. Ziva slowly stepped around the corner, locking eyes with Jenny.

"Come here, Little One." Jenny held her arms open and Ziva shuffled toward her, finally leaning toward the waiting hug. Her rebellion melted. She felt sorry that she had been bad. Jenny kissed her cheek, whispering, "Good choice, darling. I'm glad that you came in within the time limit."

Jenny stroked Ziva's curls for a few minutes. Her fingers working through the tangled hair, gently massaging Ziva's scalp. It felt nice.

But the fresh sting in her bottom did not.

"Ow!" she protested the light swat.

"Ready to get this over with before you fall asleep?"

Stern Jenny was back. The spanking was imminent.

"No," Ziva whimpered. When it was just her and Jenny, she had no issues being ... not weak - no! _never_ weak! - but slightly more "childlike" if it might help her keep out of trouble.

Ignoring her protests, Jenny gently pulled Ziva to her feet and positioned her in front of her lap.

"Why are you going to get this spanking, Ziva?"

_The game is past, Ziva. Just take your punishment with as much dignity as you can find._

"I broke the rules and went outside."

Jenny nodded. She guided Ziva into position, kissed her cheek, then bent her over the waiting knee. Ziva immediately began to struggle a little.

"I'm glad that you listened and came inside." Jenny set a thick wooden spoon on the ground within Ziva's range of sight. "I would have hated having to use this on you."

_Me too!_

She stopped her squirming, remembering that this could be worse - much worse!

She felt Jenny's hands on her waistband.

"No, Jenny! No! No!"

"You know that with me, you get your spankings for being very naughty on your bare bottom. You have been pushing for this all day and you've earned it. Down they go."

And down they went. Ziva gulped at the feeling of the cool air on her very bare bottom.

"No!" she protested loudly, squirming.

"Goodness, Ziva, hold still. You haven't even been spanked yet."

"You are mean!" Ziva accused.

SWAT!

"Ow!" Ziva yelped.

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT!

Her sentiments were confirmed. Jenny WAS mean!

SWAT!

SWAT!

"Ouch!"

Ziva kicked a little.

Unlike Gibbs' deliberate spanks, each with significant weight and purpose, Jenny always gave her spanks like a pepper shaker. Light and scattered, each with_ just_ enough emphasis to keep her attention - but combined they created a very unpleasant experience!

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT! SWAT! SWAT!

"Stop!" Ziva protested. She could feel emotions building inside of her. If she did not end the spanking now, she would end up in tears! And that, even more than being given a pink bottom, would be humiliating.

SWAT!

"You don't get to decide," Jenny informed her. "Stop your wiggling. You're getting this, no matter how much you squirm."

SWAT! SWAT!

"You disobey rules, you have to accept the consequences!"

SWAT!

SWAT!

It was time to bargain.

"Please! I will not go outside - not _tonight._ Do not give me any more spanks!"

SWAT!

Ziva gritted her teeth. She could feel it building. She had to fight!

The swats were now beginning to really sting. Jenny often let her at least keep her panties up for part of the spanking. Right now Ziva was very much missing the thin barrier.

SWAT!

A harder spank right in the middle of the underside of her bottom did it. She burst into tears.

That was something that Ziva could never understand. She had been beaten without shedding a tear, yet every time Jenny spanked her she ended up sobbing out her heart. That was why she always pleaded and wiggled and kicked. She wanted to avoid the unfathomable embarrassment of tears.

SWAT! SWAT!

SWAT! SWAT!

Jenny focused the steady, deceptively light spanks on her sit spots. The increasing sting prevented her from being able to swallow back the next batch of sobs. Time for tactic two - moving to avoid the spanks, and also to distract herself from the fact that she was crying.

"Nooooo!" she wailed, thrashing back and forth.

"Stop that!" Jenny said in her "scary mommy" voice, swatting Ziva's thigh.

SWAT!

A blossom of sting burst out where the spank landed. "Ziva, when you struggle like that I could drop you! I'm disciplining you, not trying to seriously hurt you." She locked Ziva's legs with her own, then continued spanking.

The protests had failed. The escaping had failed. Now all that was left was to just let Jenny finish so that it would all be done. Long ago she had discovered that she could not zone out while Jenny spanked her. There was no relief except in knowing that it was almost done. But to make sure that Jenny knew that she was willing to stop the disobedience, if only to get the hard swats to end, she had to say the dreaded words. And another half dozen spanks loosened her tongue.

"I am sorry!"

"Hold still. We're almost done, Ziva. You're doing well," Jenny praised, pausing the swatting to pat Ziva's back. Ziva just let her head hang down as she cried, the tears wetting her entire face.

SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! SWAT!

The six searing spanks finished off the spanking, but they were harder than any of the other spanks. Although she was now released, Ziva lay over Jenny's lap, crying and hiccuping as the pain lingered in her reddened posterior.

"Shh, shh, shhhhh," Jenny soothed, pulling up the now-hated underwear and pants. She shifted Ziva until the crying girl was cuddled against her. "It's all done. All done."

...

Gibbs breathed easier once the sharp sound of spanks stopped coming from the bedroom upstairs. He was confused at the sobs coming from his new daughter.

_Jenny was right. That does sound dramatic. _

Aside from his confusion at Ziva's reaction to what had sounded like a stinging but fairly light spanking, he was glad that it was over. He crept up the stairs noiselessly, wanting to be nearer the two women while still giving them their space. Now he could hear Ziva, no longer sobbing, still sniffling and hiccuping pitifully.

"Jethro, come in," Jenny called.

_She always did know when I was around._

He went to the doorway and looked in at Jenny with her arms filled with their repentant and tear stained little ninja.

"How are you, Ziver?" he asked tenderly. But Ziva, seeing him, paled. She gulped back the whimpers, swiped away the tears, and scrambled away from Jenny in a clumsy but deliberate fashion.

Jenny tried talking to her. "Zi, it's okay to be hugged and ..."

"I apologize. Now can I please go to bed?" she asked with a flat voice, looking at some blank spot on the floor rather than focusing on either one of them.

"Zi..."

"I am tired. Please!"

Her voice bordered on a sob. Jenny exchanged a glance with Gibbs, then reluctantly stood.

"Yes, Little One. Do you want me to ..."

"Go! Please, just go!"

...

Ziva held her breath until she heard the tell-tale steps - five VERY long minutes later - of Gibbs and Jenny finally going downstairs. Then she buried her face in her pillow.

_He saw me crying over a spanking from Jenny! Jenny does not even spank very hard! He will angry, thinking that I cried to try to get out of deserved punishment! He will be disgusted with how weak I am! He will be disappointed in me!_

A bump in the pillow reminded her of something - rather, someone - but Ziva fought against the idea.

I do not need him to see me with that! That would only make him more upset!

_But as he is not here right now, it would not hurt. I am already disgraced and humiliated. Maybe just a few minutes would help me calm down so that I can be in control of myself again?_

Having justified it to herself, Ziva finally retrieved her teddy bear from her pillow case and climbed under the covers. She kicked off her pants once hidden away by the blankets, pulling her panties down on the back far enough so the fabric would no longer touch the stinging skin. Then she pulled a blanket over her head and finally hugged Peanut.

...

"Jethro, just ... hold me, please?"

The two older adults - both feeling MUCH older after the last half hour - sunk back down onto the couch.

"Why does she have to fight me so much?" Jenny whispered. "She could get away from me in a second if she really wanted to. I wouldn't stop her and she knows it. I tell her all the time that if she ever feels too overwhelmed by a spanking, tell me 'it is too much'. She never has. But she does that whole routine every time! And it is EXHAUSTING being the bad guy!"

"You're right. We need to sit down with Ducky and get him to explain what's going in her head," Gibbs said. "How early do you think he could make time to talk to us tomorrow?"

...

An hour passed and Ziva was beginning to drift into the realms of sleep. Her crying had tired her out, as well as the emotional upheaval. She had seen how upset Jenny was when she left the room. She had hurt Jenny by making her leave! But it had to be so. She could not let Gibbs see her be weak. She could not let him hate her. She was fairly certain that Jenny would not hate her for being touchy after a spanking - she had never been in the past. It was all about risk management. She had finally settled on that fact and curled up to fall asleep before she heard the footsteps outside of her room.

She froze. She could hear Jenny whisper, "I think she might be asleep."

Ziva began to fake sleep to the best of her ability.

"Are you sure? I don't want to startle her," she heard Gibbs whisper.

"I think it is fine. Can you pull down the blind? I'll adjust her blankets."

Ziva carefully sneaked Peanut down from her face to her chest so the bear would not be seen when the blankets moved. She heard the blinds quietly being pulled down, and felt the warm blanket be pulled down a little from her face to cover the rest of her as well. Jenny's hand ghosted across her face, pushing curls off of her cheek.

"I hated doing that, sweetheart. I hope you understand why I had to do it, or at trust that I did it for your good," Jenny whispered in the tones one would use with an actually sleeping person.

_I must be faking very well. _

A soft kiss rested on her cheek. "I love you so much. Sleep well."

"We love you, Ziver," Gibbs added gently. She felt a second kiss on the top of her head. Then the two parental figures left the room, leaving a well-chastised but also cherished girl to her dreams.

...

**I hope that was worth the very long wait! **

**I have two stories left for the celebration. The next one will be a one-shot that is probably one of my top favourites of the day. To go with the fish theme from the earlier NCIS:LA story, "Small Fish in A Large Tank", this will be an NCIS one-shot by the strange name of "Peanut Butter Fish". If that title makes no sense and you are intrigued, keep your eyes open for it - as well as the last surprise story, which is something TOTALLY NEW! for me to be writing - during the next few hours as I finish up my posting for the day! **

**I love you readers and reviewers! You are the reason that I have been so encouraged to write and write and write for this website! It has been so awesome to connect with so many of you. I would encourage those of you who haven't tried the writing side yet, try it out. Watch an episode, think of an idea that you wish had been explored more, and then just aim for one or two hundred words at first. It is hard to keep an idea that small and suddenly - BOOM! - you're a 1,000 words (or 500, or 10,000!) in and you've got a story to share with the world. I highly doubt that you would regret the experience, even if you only try it once. :) **

**And now I will leave my customary ending - please remember to review! Thanks for reading! **


	20. Chapter 20 - After Effects

**Hi! Time for another chapter! **

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Troubled-Angel-26, Bohogal1998, fiftyshadeswritergal, xstargirlx123, DS2010, Queenofwheels, HappyGuest (I'm glad that you enjoyed so much! I liked that description myself!), S (I'm glad that you enjoyed the different perspectives; it is a lot of fun to see how each person is a little different in the story!), and Fan (thanks for the encouragement!). I hope that you will enjoy this next chapter. :) Ziva's adventure catches up with her in another way besides a sore bottom. **

**...**

A fresh day. A fresh start.

And fresh pain.

Ziva scrunched up her face at the feeling as she stretched after climbing out of bed at 5:00 on the dot. She pushed up the hem of her pajama top and untangled the bandage that Ducky had put on when she saw him yesterday. Back then it had been fresh, white, dry, and soft. Now it was stained, torn, and wet. Worst of all, she realized that it was not even covering the wound , which was now oozing a murky fluid and swollen red.

_Ducky will not like this!_

She dropped the useless wrapping into the trash and tried looking at her side a little better.

_I should have done that rinse he told me to do. I should have changed the bandage after supper like he told me. I should not have climbed out of my window and up and down another tree. I could feel it tearing it open again but I did not listen to my body! And now it looks way worse and Ducky will be so upset that he will blister my ears with lectures! _

Ziva's eyes grew large as she suddenly realized something.

_Ducky will tell THEM! I cannot let THAT happen!_

She hastily grabbed a clean shirt and headed for the bathroom. She closed her bedroom door behind her, then turned and bumped into Gibbs.

"Good morning, Ziver," he said with amusement.

_Does he know? No, he could not! My images are running away with me. _

"I said, 'good morning'. You okay, Zi?"

"Good morning, Gibbs," she said, tilting her head to the side so that her hair would hide the flush that had sprung to her cheeks.

"Get dressed, then come have some breakfast. It'll help you wake up some more," he suggested.

Ziva nodded, then slipped into the bathroom to try to clean the oozing cut.

...

Gibbs poured another cup of coffee and took a gulp as he looked out the window at the backyard thoughtfully. He shook his head in confusion and amusement and he remembered how sassy Ziva had been, gobbling one or two bites from one apple before frowning at a worm hole and trying a new one. Her expression after realizing that Jenny was serious about the impending spanking had been rather amusing as well.

_Something's off with her this morning,_ he mused, coming back to the present.

_Probably still a bit upset about the spanking, _he told himself. _But for some reason, that doesn't seem to be what it is. _

He took another gulp of coffee as he heard Ziva start down the stairs. He turned and smiled at her. She half-smiled back, heading to the kitchen and grabbing a bagel from the bag next to the toaster.

_Nope. Not shame over being spanked. But something else is wrong. I'll just have to keep an extra close eye on her and hope that whatever it is clears up. _

...

The day passed in surprising peace. Gibbs was proud of how easily Ziva could settle down when she tried. Her activities were slightly unusual - sharpening his kitchen knives and cleaning every atom of her gun for two hours before locking it into his safe at his insistence - but he did not comment, just nodded his praise for her calm amusements.

_I might just have to reward her_, he thought before making a quick phone call after lunch.

Ziva got a phone call of her own around 2:00.

"David."

"Hi, Ziva."

"Oh. Jenny."

"How are you, sweetie?"

"I am fine," Ziva said stiffly.

"I meant to drop by over my lunch break but something came up."

"You do not need to check on me."

"Yes, Zizi, I do."

"But ..."

"No 'buts', Ziva. Whether you like it or not, I do care about you and I will check in on you. And I know that when I was younger, whenever I had to be disciplined, I always wanted to know that everything was okay between me and whoever was the disciplinarian. It is part of my job as a mo... someone who disciplines you to check up on you afterwards and make sure that are feeling loved and wanted."

Ziva could not think of anything to say in response to that.

"Ziva, the point of the spanking was to help teach you and protect you from doing foolish things. Do you understand why I did it?"

"Yes."

"And are you okay with it?"

Ziva took a deep breath. "I do. And I AM fine, Jenny."

_As long as you do not ask me about how my cut feels. _

A soft laugh from the other side of the phone silenced Ziva's anxiety. "Ziva, you sound so much like your father."

Zivas backbone stiffened. "I am not like him!" she hissed in protest.

"Oh, no, no, no! Not Eli, dear. I meant Jethro. I can't tell you how many times he has told me that he is fine with exact same tone that you just used."

"Oh."

Ziva brightened a little at that comment. Being like Gibbs was a much different comment than being like Eli. She _wanted_ to be like Gibbs. She felt highly complimented to be compared to him.

"I'll call you later tonight, okay? I have a meeting now, but I wanted to check in on you. And don't say that I didn't have to, because I did."

"Bye, Jenny," Ziva said with a barely suppressed smile.

"Bye, Zi. Love you."

...

Ziva managed to continue with the good behaviour. In fact, she had been so good all day that at 4:00, Gibbs called out, "Get on your running shoes, Ziver. We're going for a jog before heading to the diner for supper. I convinced Tony to meet us there rather than having more take-out. He can get you the pizza some other day."

Ziva's head popped up from the gun catalogue that she had been perusing.

"Really?" she asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up with excitement. It was so easy to elicit that emotion from Abby, but Gibbs had never realized before how easy it was to please Ziva as well.

_I'll have to try to do this more. _

"Yep. C'mon."

...

Ziva smiled eagerly. She was not going to have to fight to go outside - at last Gibbs was understanding her needs the way that she saw them. He had said jog, but that was not too far from a good, fast run. Once they were on a pathway, she could break away and do whatever she wanted within reason.

_This will be fun!_ she decided.

At least, that was what she thought until she stood up and remembered just _why_ she had been so quiet all day. Her side was paining.

_The soap and water earlier did not work_, she admitted to herself.

"Why are you just standing there? Get your shoes and let's go," Gibbs said from where he stood by the door, watching her carefully for any sign that something was amiss. Ziva took a split second to come up with a plan, then acted on it.

"Can I change first? I want to wear something more comfortable for running."

"_Jogging_ for today, Zi. Ducky gave permission for it only if we warm up with walking first, then go slowly and stop if you start feeling any pain. But yeah, go ahead and change. "

Ziva's heart nearly stopped as she realized the mess that she was walking - _jogging_ \- into if she did not speak up right away. Gibbs really did believe that she was feeling okay or he would not have invited her to go jogging. Ducky was counting on the fact that she was going to be honest about her health. She did not know where Jenny and Tony and Tim and Abby and even Jimmy would tie into the situation, but she had a sneaking feeling that they did.

She turned and headed for the stairs, taking the time with her back to Gibbs to nervously bite the inside of her bottom lip. Because no matter how badly she might feel about the deceiving she was about to do, she was going to do it.

As she took the first step on the stairs, her eyes flew to the list of rules posted to the wall.

_I guess this is as good a reason as any to show that the rules do not really apply to me. And I really DO need to go jogging. _Ziva stepped into her room and closed the door behind her._ This is all Gibbs' fault. If he would let me go running any time that I wanted to, then I would not have to leave out the truth now. _

She looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head.

"He will not believe that is a good excuse, will he?" She leaned in and looked herself in the eye. "No, he will not," she scolded herself.

Still, she turned to her dresser and pulled out her favourite tank top for exercising. She pulled off her loose shirt and looked at her side. In the two hours since she had last peaked at it, the skin had gotten more inflamed.

_I will use rubbing alcohol tonight. I have a bottle of hand sanitizer. That will hurt, but it should work. I will use it before I go to bed, _she promised herself. _I do not need to tell Ducky. I have taken care of myself many times. It will be no different this time. _

Already wincing at the thought of the lecture Ducky would give her if he knew that she was disobeying his medical orders, Ziva pulled on her new shirt, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and pulled on a pair of socks. Then she hurried down the stairs, hiding her wincing from Gibbs' hawk eye.

...

_Something is off_, Gibbs thought again as he looked at Ziva from the corner of his eye. He still could not tell why, but the joy that was usually so evident when she was outside was missing.

Thinking that it was possibly due to the slow pace that they had been keeping for the last mile, he decided that even Ducky would be satisfied with how warmed up they were by this point.

"Let's speed this up," he suggested, beginning to jog slowly.

Ziva seemed to hesitate - _when does she ever do that?! _\- before speeding up with him. The two of them fell into stride, but Gibbs realized that she was still looking stressed. He put out his arm, stopping her.

"Ziva, what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing."

He paused and looked at her for a long moment.

"That was pretty fast, Officer David. Want to rethink and make sure that's the truth?"

"No!" she blurted out, then flushed a tiny bit. "Yes, it is true."

He stepped forward into her personal space, a technique sure to have his subordinates stuttering apologies and truth within seconds - at least once they were trained to recognize when he was in a more no-nonsense mood than normal. Apparently, Ziva was still learning as made obvious by her defiant glare right back at him.

"Are you in pain?" he demanded in a low, controlled tone that warned heartily against lying.

"Not. At. All."

Gibbs stepped back, maintaining eye contact. He could not say for certain that she was lying, but he did know that something was wrong.

...

_I have to throw him off of the idea that I am lying,_ Ziva thought frantically. There was only one way that she could think of that would work.

She turned and started running toward the diner.

"It's about two miles from supper, is it not?"

_Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. There is no need for me to feel guilty. I am already being punished for lying! _

...

Gibbs held the door open for Ziva as they reached the diner. He did not like how drawn her face was, but knowing her, she was not going to talk to him.

"Look's like Tony's already got a booth," he said.

Ziva did not bother to respond. She went over and quickly sat next to Tony, not wanting to be next to Gibbs. Her logic was proven to be flawed as Gibbs took a seat across from her. With his piercing blue eyes searching her face, along with the pain now throbbing in time with her heartbeat, she knew that she would not be able to eat a thing.

She was correct. She ate a few bites of her hamburger, shoved the fries around in the ketchup and nibbled on a few, took two bites of the pickle speared onto her burger, and then left the rest.

"Not hungry, Ziva?"

_Leave it to Tony to draw attention to the one thing that I'm trying to hide!_

"I did not do much today so I do not have much of an appetite," she told him.

"Oh. Then can I have the rest of your burger?" he asked with typical big brother interest in leftovers.

"Go ahead."

"Tony, you got your car here?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, Boss. Why?"

"Ziva and I jogged here but would you be able to give us a ride home?"

"Of course. Oh, and I promise, Zi, I'll get the pizza for you later on. We're good about that whole water fight thing yesterday, right?"

Ziva smiled and nodded.

"Of course. But since you promised pizza, make sure you deliver it!"

"I will."

Gibbs smiled at the "kids" getting along.

"I'm going to go pay. The two of you get out to Tony's car. I'm ready to spend some time on my boat and if you two want to play a game or watch a movie, you can have the rest of the evening."

"I am actually feeling tired so I will probably go right to bed," Ziva said. The twin looks of confusion, immediately followed by suspicion, proved that Gibbs and DiNozzo both knew that Ziva was not normally so eager to put herself to bed early. Gibbs gave Tony a look, then went to the cash register.

"'Fess up, David," Tony demanded.

"What?" Ziva asked, looking up with confusion on her face.

"It's clear that you aren't saying something. What's up with the whole wanting to go to bed early?"

"I just want to get more sleep."

"Yeah, right. What's the real truth? You been grounded or something?"

"No!"

"Hey, don't get so upset. If you won't tell me, I have to guess. Are you trying to escape for the night through the window? Because I have personal experience attempting that and both times ended up with me unable to sit comfortably the next day."

"I am not going to escape!"

Tony gave her a knowing look. "You tried that already, haven't you?"

She glared daggers at him and he smirked. "Knew it! But that's not what's got you so quiet. Are you in pain?"

"NO!" she said loudly, hoping the very real annoyance would override the very false lie.

"Okay, okay!" he said, holding up his hand to calm her down. "Just know, if you ever need to talk, give me a call or we could go get coffee. Whatever you need ... or want, 'cause I know how boring Gibbs' place can get ... just let me know."

"Thanks. All I want right now is just to go to bed."

Tony sighed. "Fine, Ziva, fine. I get it. You just want time to yourself."

"Tony, it is not ..."

"Gibbs is done with the bill. Let's go."

They walked out, both feeling dissatisfied with their conversation.

The ride home was fairly quiet. Tony drove them home without any more pressure for her to honest. Once they got home, Ziva scampered up the stairs and spent an agonizing five minutes applying hand sanitizer to her side after a two-minute shower. Before Tony had even finished giving Gibbs the basic rundown of what had been happening in the office during his absence, Ziva was curling up in her bed, cradling her side and trying to hold back acknowledgment of the pain.

_Just ignore it. Just ignore it. I will feel better in the morning. _

But the truth was, she would not.

...

**Please review! I hope that you enjoyed! See you again soon! **


	21. Chapter 21 - Plots and Plans

**Yay! Another chapter! **

**Thanks to my reviewers (there were a lot of you this week!) - Troubled-Angel-26, JessicaRae95, starie78, Bohogal1998, DS2010, S (she'll make it - it just make take a bit to get her out of trouble!), A (good guesses, but Ziva might not see it that way!), HappyGuest (you're right!), didodado (Welcome!), xstargirlx123, Fan (she most definitely will regret it!), dawnmarie1971, Fashionista-girl, and KrisShannon. Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal who, as always with these chapters, has given me fabulous editing help. She is responsible for sparking a phone call between Ziva and her siblings in this chapter, which I very much enjoyed writing and that I hope you will enjoy reading. **

**Speaking of reading...**

**...**

Despite her hopeful wishes of the night before, Ziva was not feeling any better in the morning.

She was feeling worse.

It was obvious from the second she had woken up and looked at the clock. Her favoured wake-up time was 5:30, or 6:00 at the latest. Right now it was 7:30.

Ziva dragged herself to her feet and over to the mirror. She looked at the cut. Despite the attempt with the sanitizer the previous night, the wound was now even more swollen and leaking pus from one corner.

"This is bad," she muttered to herself.

"Ziva, time to get up," Gibbs hollered from downstairs. "You've got a meeting with Jackie at Duck's house in an hour and a half."

_Oh, that is bad! Jackie will want to ask me a bunch of nosy questions - for a full HOUR today! And then Ducky will want to poke me for another while and there is no way that he will be willing to skip changing the bandage himself. Only two days ago he was saying that it should be feeling better soon, that is was nearly closed. He will know that I did not listen and then he will lecture me and then Gibbs will hear him and say, 'What's the matter, Duck?' and then Ducky will tell him. Gibbs will be mad and probably spank me for "endangering" my health and then I will hurt even more. Gibbs will see me as weak and Jenny will be angry that I hid it from her. I got into this by not listening to Ducky in the first place. It is all my fault and now I have to keep hiding it or I will be in trouble! Besides, I am not weak. _

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Ziver! Get up!" Gibbs said from the other side her closed door. "Breakfast is ready."

"Yes, sir!" she called, wincing as she quickly turned toward her dresser. But as she was getting dressed, her mind was oh-so-busy. Telling Ducky about the pain was out of the question, as was letting him discover for himself how badly infected her side was. Telling Gibbs was even more unfathomable. So now she had to figure out a way to deceive - she preferred the word "trick" - both of the men.

If only she was able to realize how much the two sacrificially loved her, maybe her response would have been different.

But Ziva had no interest in seeing the situation from anyone else's perspective. That could inconveniently make her feel guilty.

_Now how can I keep out of trouble?_

"ZIVA!" Gibbs bellowed from the kitchen. It was the third time that he had called her, and it was obvious that his patience was gone.

It was only 7:45. What a great start to the day!

"COMING!" she yelled back equally as loud. She heard him grunt in frustration - probably due to what he deemed as "sassiness".

_This is not starting right_, she mused, repentant of that one flash of temper. But her repentance was more plain regret that now it would be harder to find a solution without Gibbs seeing her as "acting out" or being moody. She was well aware of what he would suspect, and to pull one over on him would require all of the sweetness and charm that she could muster. She pocketed her phone and hurried to the stairs. Gibbs was just starting to come up, a glare on his face.

"Good morning, Gibbs!" she said cheerfully, hiding her winces as she skipped down the steps, attempting to disarm him. It seemed to work a little. His face softened.

"Oatmeal's on the stove. Abby brought by some fruit."

"Really? When?"

"Last night."

"I did not hear her," Ziva said, going to the fridge and find a dish of freshly sliced pineapple, a cup of hulled strawberries, and what looked to be a second cup of peeled mango.

"You had already been in bed for an hour. She was headed back home after a benefit potluck for parrots or something and had fruit leftovers."

"I wish that I had heard her," Ziva mumbled.

"I'm too boring for you?" Gibbs asked.

This is good. He is actually joking a bit with me now! And this fruit has given me a great idea on how to keep away from trouble! But back to our conversation...

"You are not boring, Gibbs. I just ..."

"Miss the others?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. That's why I told Abs to get them all over here for supper tonight. I told 'er Tony owes you a pizza. He can cover the food and I'm sure that Abby and Tim'll have a game or something. Tony likes those dvd thingies, so you could watch one of those if you wanted."

Ziva felt her conscience twinge. Gibbs was planning - or letting Abby plan - a fun night for the team.

_For me!_

"I'm proud of you, Ziver. You're doing good."

It was definitely an exaggeration in Ziva's mind. There was no way that climbing out of windows, disobeying him and Jenny repeatedly in half a dozen ways, refusing to eat, and having as big of an attitude as she could muster would count as "doing good", but she had never received encouragement like that from Eli. Even though it was more of hopeful encouragement to do better in the future, she appreciated the kindness.

She did not appreciate how the kindness made her conscience feel. Her stomach twisted a little - did guilt make her side hurt even worse? - and she closed the refrigerator door.

"I am not very hungry, Gibbs."

He shook his head firmly.

"You WILL eat. Take a few strawberries or a couple bites of oatmeal, but you are not leaving before you eat something." He noticed how her eyes lit up mischievously and sternly shook his head. "And we will leave on time, young lady. So eat or else. I've already eaten. I'm going to go upstairs and shower. When I come down, I'm going to trust that you'll have had some food."

"Okay," Ziva said softly. She was in too much pain and guilt to protest further.

"You feeling fine, Zi?"

"Yes!" she protested. "Just ... thinking of something that I want to do later." Gibbs gave her a look and she immediately protested, "You will like it!"

He smirked and headed upstairs to shower. Ziva grabbed a small cereal bowl and helped herself to some of the oatmeal. A dash of cream and several strawberries later, she had a delicious start to her day. Grateful that Gibbs was upstairs and out of hearing distance she made a quick call. When she hung up she was smiling smugly.

_Tricking Gibbs and Ducky will be no trouble at all!_

...

On the car drive, Ziva's cell phone rang. She leaned back in her seat and answered, "David."

"Hi, Ziva!" Abby and Tim chorused on the other end.

"Good morning, McGee and Abby," Ziva said happily, cheered by the voices of her friends. She saw Gibbs smiling from the corner of her eye.

"We are missing you and Boss at work, but Tony is doing a good job," Tim informed her.

"But we still came in early together to play a prank on him anyway, because it is fun and we haven't got anything big going on," Abby giggled.

"What did you do?"

"We put super glue on his keyboard, stole his stapler, and put an ivy plant with olive oil smeared over the leaves onto his desk."

"Why would you do that with a plant?"

"To make it look like poison ivy!"

"Did he fall for it?" Ziva asked eagerly.

"All of it!" Abby cackled exuberantly.

"He freaked out over the poison ivy, demanding that Abby 'scientifically remove it, along with all the oil on my desk!'" McGee mimicked Tony's frightened squeal.

"And his hands got caught on the super glue and his face went red, he was so upset!" Abby chimed.

"And he still hasn't found where we put his stapler!"

"Where did you put it?" Ziva asked, enthralled by the story.

"We taped it underneath of his chair. He's already looked all through the lab and the desks in the bullpen, but he'll never think to look there!"

"Was he angry at you?" Ziva asked, reveling in the idea of her partner being so masterfully fooled.

"Of course!"

"Then why do you sound so happy?"

"Because he pretended to be Gibbs! I've never seen anything so hilarious!" Abby laughed. "He head slapped McGee, marched us to my lab, then said that we were in 'time-out' until he found his stapler."

"That does not sound fun."

"Ziva," McGee said, "what do you do when two people are ganging up on you?"

"Separate them," Ziva answered promptly.

"Yeah. But Tony got us to sit down together - still with our cellphones - in Abby's office, next to her computer and candy dish. We're going to watch a movie until something comes in that we actually need to do or Tony gives up and admits that we won!"

"Just don't tell Gibbs!" Abby staged whispered.

"I will not," Ziva promised. Gibbs looked over at her curiously and she smiled charmingly.

"Tell Abs and McGee to behave themselves," Gibbs said with a long-suffering eye roll.

"We heard him," Abby said with a sad sigh, that quickly brightened as she responded, "But we are! Tony told us to stay down here and don't cause any more trouble for him. We aren't. We _are_ listening. Tell Gibbs that!"

"They say that they are listening to Tony," Ziva dutifully reported. Gibbs just sighed.

"I bet they are," he muttered.

"What movie do you want?" Abby asked Tim on the other end. As Tim began to check Abby's computer for the selection, Abby continued the conversation. "Are you excited about getting together tonight, Ziva?"

"Yes. It sounds fun. I wished that I had heard you last night. I would have liked to have seen you."

"Me too. But did you get the fruit?"

"Yes. I ate some of the strawberries for breakfast."

"Great. Anything special you want tonight? Gibbs said Tony will bring pizza. McGee was saying that he would bring the drinks. What do you want me to bring?"

Ziva thought for a moment. "Cookies. Chocolate chip cookies."

"Then tons of chocolate chip cookies we shall have!" Abby giggled. "See you later, Ziva!"

"See you, Ziva!" McGee added.

"Bye," Ziva replied before stopping the connection.

"Good talk?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes," Ziva said contentedly. She was excited to continue it that evening. She was interested in how long it would take for Tony to find his stapler.

...

Ziva huffed and puffed, shifted and sighed, rolled her eyes and refused to answer a lot of the questions, but she did stay through the whole counseling session.

"You don't have to answer all of my questions. Just know that I am listening to all of your answers," Jackie told her. Ziva tried it out, interrupting Jackie a few times to see if she would actually stop and listen. If she had not listened, Ziva would have rejoiced in reporting the therapist a liar to Gibbs, but no such luck. Ziva tried revealing outrageous facts about herself - "I am an assassin who has killed more people than I can remember" and "I started officially training with weapons when I was six" - but Jackie remained unflappable.

"And how does that make you feel that your parents let you handle weapons so young?" Jackie asked, leaving Ziva to try to wiggle her way out of a question that she had prompted.

"You know, we've been talking an hour now," Jackie finally said. Ziva snapped around to look at the clock. Fifty-nine minutes and thirty seconds had passed since they started talking.

"We can talk longer but if we do, that needs to be your choice."

More than anything, that convinced Ziva that Jackie was a good person. This was someone who knew how to keep her end of a deal. She would not have minded if the did go over in the future ... within reason and as long as it was within her control.

"I cannot talk any longer today. I have plans that cannot be postponed, but ... thank you."

"Oh, my pleasure!" Jackie said sweetly. "I hope that you enjoy your plans."

"I will."

"Not meaning to pry, Ziva, but are you feeling okay? It like your were grimacing with pain several times while we were talking."

Ziva's eyes widened with protest. "No, no! I am fine! I was just ... thinking."

"Good."

The two women walked out to Ducky's kitchen where he was regaling Gibbs with the history of the surrounding area.

"I will let myself out," Jackie told the men, motioning for them to sit back down. "See you all on Tuesday. I'll look forward to talking to you again, Ziva."

Ziva could feel everyone weighing up her reaction so she carefully measured her words. "Thank you, Jackie. See you then." She had to hide her smirk as she saw how Gibbs' eyes widened with pleasant surprise.

_He was not expecting me to be so nice! Ha!_

Jackie waved cheerily and exited.

"Ziva, dear, how about you and I step into my office and I can change your bandage," Ducky said with a gentle smile.

"Ducky, I would love that, but Gibbs and I are running late."

Gibbs frowned suspiciously. "For what?" he barked.

"I made a reservation. Ducky told me about a wonderful tea place near here and I called this morning and reserved a spot for us for their brunch."

"You reserved a table at the Jefferson's?" Ducky asked with delight in his eyes. "You two will enjoy it very much."

Ziva bit her lip as she realized that Ducky would have liked to have come as well. "Ducky, I forgot ..." But he cut her off, quickly realizing what she was thinking.

"I am so glad that the two of you will get to do something enjoyable together without anyone else distracting you. What time is your reservation?"

"It is at 10:30."

"Goodness! You have hurry. You will barely make it with the traffic. Go, go, go!"

"You should have told me, Ziver," Gibbs grumbled but it was clear that he was happy about the fact that she wanted to spend time with him. Her conscience pricked her a little.

_I can never let him know that this started out as a way to keep Ducky from giving me a check-up._

Ziva decided to push off the feeling of guilt and focus on anticipation. Despite the deception taken to get her there, she was looking forward to having all of Gibbs' positive attention on her and her alone.

"Hurry! You do not have any time to waste!"

Ducky shooed them out the door. Ziva released the breath that she had been holding. Now she had until Tuesday to get herself feeling better without Ducky's interference. Everything was going according to plan.

And if she got some muffins and tea in the mix, who was she to complain?

Now her biggest struggle was not hide her winces as potholes and stop-and-go traffic kept giving her jarring shots of pain.

...

**How do you think game night will go? What will happen with Ziva? Let me know your guesses in the comments! Thanks for reading! **


	22. Chapter 22 - No Fun and Games

**Hi! I've been enjoying NaNoWriMo ... so SURPRISE! So can you! **

**Thanks, JessicaRae95, Troubled-Angel-26, DS2010, fiftyshadeswritergal (thanks for the review on the last chapter as well!), didodado, HappyGuest, Tamara, AmyV24, S (good guesses), Fan, Fashionista-girl (for both reviews - how do you do that?), and KrisShannon. I appreciate the reviews, y'all! **

**Now, let's see what else is going on with Ziva...**

**...**

Ziva's brunch with Gibbs had been enjoyable. The two of them did not talk a whole lot, but Gibbs downed a pot of coffee and Ziva enjoyed her muffin, scones, and tea. He smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he went to pay the bill. She had insisted that she could afford it but he was fast in grabbing the bill.

They swung by the hardware store so Gibbs could purchase a few supplies - Ziva busied herself locating each item that she had used as a weapon. Gibbs whisked her out before she could move on to determining which other items would make good additions to her private arsenal. She vowed that she would return and stock up on some of the potentially worthy items at a later date.

Neither Gibbs nor Ziva wanted lunch, so they returned to their respective hobbies upon their return to the house. Ziva decided to practice darts with an old board that she had located in Gibbs' basement and relocated to the backyard with Gibbs' blessing. He kept working on his boat.

After scoring a sufficient amount of points, Ziva began to feel fidgety. It was not too hot outside but she was feeling uncomfortably warm.

_Feverish._

She shook the thought off. Or she would have, if her head was not starting to hurt so much.

_I just need some water_, she told herself, choosing to believe that she was dehydrated despite the three cups of tea rather than consider the fact that the infected cut was beginning to cause some very real damage to her body. She dragged herself inside to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water. She rustled through the cupboards, trying to find some pain medication but before her search could get too thorough Gibbs came upstairs and bee-lined for the coffee maker.

"Looking for something, Ziver?"

"No." It was starting to get a little worrisome how adept she was becoming at lying to Gibbs.

...

Gibbs was concerned by the very same fact.

"Are you sure?" he asked, testing to see if she would be any more forthcoming.

"Yes," she replied.

"I'd play a few rounds of darts with you," he offered, surreptitiously trying to conduct surveillance on his sneaky agent. But Ziva was not to be easily caught.

"I am tired of darts for now," she replied.

"Then what are you going to be doing?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Zi..." he said warningly.

...

_I do not want to make him angry at me right now._

"I guess that I will read," Ziva sighed.

Although she had no interest in continuing the sappy romance novel, likely a forgotten or scorned book belonging to one of the ex-wives, it was better than trying to explain to Gibbs that she was starting to feel ill - this time of her own making. That would just be an invitation to a long lecture and what she could only imagine would be a spanking for lying or putting herself in danger or some other silly reason.

"Bring your book down here to the living room," Gibbs said. "I'm going to read the newspaper. We can keep each other company."

Ziva really did not want "company" and she doubted that was the real reason that Gibbs was tell her to come downstairs, but there was no way out of it without acting suspicious. However, she did not have to be happy about his interference with her afternoon.

"Fine," she hissed between gritted teeth. She retrieved her book and dropped onto the sofa. She pointedly held the book up in front of her face, blocking Gibbs' view of her.

She heard a rustle of the newspaper and peeked around the edge of her book to see Gibbs imitating her position. She tried to be annoyed but it was too funny. She lowered her book a little to reveal her smile. Gibbs reciprocated the motion and the two soon fell into a comfortable silence ... or as comfortable as one can be while running a fever. Ziva's headache got so bad that she could no longer focus on the words in the book and she gave up, grabbing a blanket off of the back of the couch and curling up a little, letting her eyes drift closed. The pain had tired her body and she needed rest.

...

"Ziva! Gibbs! We're here!"

Ziva jerked at the loud greeting as a door slammed behind an exuberant Abby, who's earlier Tony-enforced time-out with Tim did not seem to have caused any harm. She was waving a large container of cookies as well as a game. Tim and Tony were right behind her, wiping off their shoes. Tony's arms were full with pizza boxes - it looked like he had brought more than just the vegetarian one that she had ordered. Tim had bottles of pop and sparkling water. They both grunted their greetings from behind packages and edibles. Ziva struggled to prop herself up, but the simple movement seemed impossible. Her body refused to cooperate. She could feel fatigue in every limb as she let her head nestle back against the cushions.

Abby skipped out to the kitchen and delivered the cookies, then hurried back to the couch where Ziva was still lying, feeling every little ache and pain intensify as she awakened.

"Ziva! Get up! Come on! This is going to be AWESOME!" Abby cheered, plopping down on the couch.

"Ow!" Ziva gasped, grimacing at the pain that shocked her body when jolted.

Abby frowned. "That doesn't sound good." She leaned closer and looked at Ziva's face, then dove forward to kiss Ziva's forehead.

"What are you doing?" Ziva groaned, trying to roll away from the intrusion.

Abby pulled back and shook her head seriously. "Ziva, you're burning up!"

Gibbs stepped out from the kitchen where he had been working and crouched next to Ziva and Nurse Abby. One look and he knew the truth as well.

"Ziver," he said gently. It had equal undertones of frustration and disappointed, but they were balanced with love and concern. He reached out and felt Ziva's forehead. She did not try to fight it like she normally would. His cool hand against her head actually felt good.

"McGee, call Ducky. Tony, please get Ziva a glass of water. Abs, please go check the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. I don't know if I have anything that isn't expired..."

"I'll check," Abby assured him.

"I do not need..." Ziva began her little spiel, but Gibbs silenced her with a calloused finger lightly pressed to her lips.

"Shh, Ziver," he soothed. "You're hurting bad, aren't you?"

"A lit..."

"The truth."

"Yes," she whispered, hating that an uncontrollable tear trickled out of her eye.

_Stupid body!_

"Here's the water," Tony said, walking over. His loud voice made Ziva cringe.

"Quiet down a bit," Gibbs directed him.

"Sorry," Tony whispered in response, holding out the water. Gibbs took it and gave it to Ziva. She took two small sips before pushing it back into his hands.

"Gibbs! All of your meds expired ten years ago. Ten YEARS ago!" Abby yelled down the stairs, pounding back toward them waving some packets and bottles.

"Never need them, Abs," he told her calmly before motioning for her to soften her voice. "How long have you been hurting?" he asked Ziva softly.

"Um, a while," she fudged. Gibbs gave her the "glare of truth" as Abby had called it a few weeks ago. The scientist had been right - it dragged the deepest, darkest truth out of you without exception.

"Ever since I climbed out of the window," she mumbled the admission, hoping that Tony, Tim, and Abby would not hear.

They did.

"You climbed out the window?" Tim asked in surprise. He turned to Tony and Abby. "Who does that?!"

Tony and Abby's equally flushed faces and uncomfortable shifting - the response to remembered chastisement - answered his question.

"They've both done it far more than Ziva," Gibbs growled, silencing all three of them. He turned back to Ziva and gave her his full attention. That made Ziva feel both simultaneously scared to death and completely safe.

"Let me see," he ordered. Ziva wordlessly obeyed, pulling her shirt up. Gibbs' jaw tightened as he saw the festering mess.

"McGee?"

"Ducky's on his way."

"He does not need to come,"Ziva protested.

Gibbs' eyes flashed dangerously and he leaned in to whisper, "Don't. Protest. You chose to be foolish and how you have to pay the consequences. I am disappointed in you, Ziva. I trusted you to tell me if something was wrong."

It was clear that he was telling the truth. Inexplicably, the disappointment in his sad blue eyes nearly had Ziva in tears. She struggled to hold herself together in front of the others.

He pulled back and turned to the others. "Go, eat. Get Ziva a piece of pizza and bring it in a few minutes."

The three other kids, with backward glances, made their way to the kitchen.

It was just the worried dad and a pained, scared, newly-adopted daughter left alone.

Ziva took a deep breath and forced herself to sit up, Gibbs' supportive hand on her back the entire time.

"Did I ruin our game night?" she asked softly.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and growled. "Zi ... why didn't you tell me? I asked you, again and again. Jenny asked, Tony asked, Duck asked. Why did you keep lying?"

Ziva took a breath, but the motion hurt. Tears made their way to her eyes despite her best fight. "I am not weak," she told him, avoiding eye contact.

"I know. We all know. But this" - he motioned to her cut, still visible with her shirt rolled up - "does not look strong to me."

Ziva flushed at the gentle rebuke. "I did not want everyone mad at me," she whispered under her breath. But Gibbs had super hearing and he heard - and understood.

"Ziva David, I want to listen and listen good. Jen, Duck, me - we'll be upset when you do foolish things. We might be mad. But that does not mean..." He stopped. Ziva looked at him timidly and he shrugged. "Ask Jen to explain it better, but ... even if we get mad, it does not mean that we don't want you. We love you. That's why we're upset in the first place." He leaned forward and Ziva felt a healthy dose of intimidation. "And Ziva - you will a_lways_ be in more trouble for trying to hide something from me. It does not matter how bad it is - you come to me. Right away. No hiding. No lying. You tell me what's the matter so I can help you. Understand?"

"Yes," Ziva whimpered. She wished that she had energy to fight back, to insist that she was fine on her own like always, and that she did not need his help or scolding, but she was too tired.

"Good. Than that's all we'll say about this ... for now. We can deal with the rest later."

Ziva gulped worriedly at that ominous announcement. Gibbs shook his head gently, stopping any protests. Abby timidly entered the room with a plate.

"Ziva, I got your pizza for you."

"Thanks, Abs," Gibbs thanked her, taking the plate and handing it to Ziva.

"I am not very hungry," she tried to tell him, but before he even focused his gaze on her she was already grabbing the piece of pizza and cramming it into her mouth. She could tell that she was in enough trouble already without antagonizing Gibbs more.

"You need to give your body strength to fight your fever. Just a few bites," he told her. His face was still grim, but it has lost a little of its hardness at her obedience. "If you want something else, we can get it for you in a minute."

"Tony, Tim ... how about you come eat out here?" Abby suggested, a nervous squeak in her voice revealing that the tension in the room was cutting through even her cloak of happiness. The two boys joined them, silently taking seats. Ziva looked at all of them repentantly. When she planned her "tricks", she had not foreseen them ruining time with her friends. This was even worse with dinner the night before with Gibbs and Tony. She could see it all in their eyes - the sympathetic tears welling in Abby's; the nervous confusion and patient loyalty in Tim's; the protective gleam mixed with betrayal that she had hid the truth from him in Tony's. So different from the excited, anticipating, joyous expressions of fifteen minutes ago.

She felt worse than sick. She felt responsible for ruining everyone's nights and that responsibility came with a heavy helping of guilt.

She dropped her pizza onto the plate and forced herself to look up at her team. They deserved that much respect at least after all she had put them through.

"I ... am ... sorry."

The words hung heavy in the air. Abby, Tim, and Tony just looked at her. She could feel Gibbs' gaze on her as well. She forced herself to keep her head up, not giving in to the guilt or painful throbbing.

Before anyone could respond to her apology, there was a brisk knock on the door and Ducky and Jimmy entered.

"Hi, everyone!" Jimmy said with the the cheerful awkwardness that was always exuded around him. "Do I smell pizza?" He looked around the room and finally seemed to catch on to the tense situation. "Ah..."

"Mr. Palmer was just accompanying me home for a game of checkers after dinner," Ducky told everyone, "but I hear that I have a patient."

_So I ruined Ducky and Jimmy's nights as well! I keep finding out that I am a worse and worse person!_

Ziva wished that she could disappear as Ducky looked at her with an expression which was nearly a mirror of the one Gibbs had given her earlier. All of the disappointment, all of the care. It had the effect of making her feel lower than an ant to have caused Ducky to have to look at her like that. He came and knelt next to her.

"Let me see what you have gotten yourself into, dear," he told her lovingly, setting aside the well-deserved scolding for later as he saw her wince as he adjusted the shirt.

"Jimmy, want a piece of pizza? Abby, Tim, you both look like you need some more." Tony corralled the other young members of the team out into the kitchen to Ziva's great gratitude. Ducky guided her to lie down once again as he began the impromptu check-up, clucking his tongue unhappily as he did so.

Ziva just squeezed her eyes closed, wishing that she could somehow reverse time and undo all the damage she had done, not just to herself but also to her friends-slowly-turning-family.

Gibbs gently stroked the hair away from her temples as she lay there, face taut with pain while Ducky prodded and poked as gently as possible. The tired father did not worry when he saw the tiny tear slipping down her face because he knew it had nothing to do with her physical pain. His little girl was learning a very hard but necessary lesson - hurting herself hurt the ones who loved her best in the end.

And as long as everything worked out, he was appeased that she was learning her lesson. If she learned it well, it would save them from even worse situations in the future.

But for the moment, all their focus would be on getting her feeling better now. And he would be at Ziva's side the whole time.

A tiny gasp from the hardened Ziva confirmed that it would not be fun and games.

...

**I hope that you enjoyed! Please remember to review! Thanks!**


	23. Chapter 23 - Movie Night

**From early to very late... I know, I know! Sorry! But I am finally posting. If you have not already seen it, fiftyshadeswritergal and I have written another co-story. A few more chapters are still to come! Fiftyshadeswritergal and I would love for you to check it out if you have not already done so. This time the story is being posted on my account. It is called "The Thanksgiving Turkey Tales" and I think it will make you chuckle in places!  
**

**Back to this story... Thanks to all the reviewers since last time! Troubled-Angel-26, DS2010, xstargirlx123, JessicaRae95, Fashionoista-girl, didodado, Bohogal1998, A, Rhi, S (thanks for pointing out that error; I corrected it!), starie78, HappyGuest, dawnmarie1971. I would love to point out JessicaRae95's review in particular - "...Gibbs does need to try to understand the shell of displayed strength Ziva tends to hide in. You can't just 'discipline' that out of someone. Scars can make someone a totally different person, regardless of how their surroundings change. No matter how much you love people around you, there will always be a tender, sore spot that you will always protect and shield from the world." This was SO true and in upcoming chapters I hope that you will all be able to see Gibbs gently help Ziva learn, not try to punish her when she is unable to trust. Gibbs works through that a little in this chapter, and he and Ziva will be discussing it in the next chapter. (Hope that doesn't spoil it all for you!) Once again, thank you to all the commenters who share their valued opinions and ideas! I love you all!  
**

**Now, please enjoy! **

**...**

Gibbs stepped into the living room after making a quick call to Jenny. Ducky was just pulling Ziva's shirt back down after finishing.

"All cleaned up, Ziva," Ducky told the young lady gently. He reached for his bag, searched, then took out a bottle of pills.

"I do not need medicine!" Ziva protested weakly as she realized what he was doing, but Ducky wisely did not respond. He simply measured out the pills, set them on the coffee table, then stepped back with a meaningful look at Gibbs.

"I believe that I will go get a slice of pizza with the others while you supervise the swallowing of the pills," Ducky told his old friend in a low voice. Then Ducky turned and went to the kitchen, leaving Ziva alone with Gibbs. Ziva shifted on the sofa, trying to turn into the cushions. Then pain in her side stopped her, as well as the touch on her chin by Gibbs.

"Be responsible and take them."

And without any more fuss, she did.

"Then let's get you up to bed."

"But everyone came to visit!" Ziva protested weakly.

Gibbs was just about to tell her that she had ruined the game night and there would be no more visiting for her that night, a direct and natural consequence of her foolishness, but one look at the repentant, tear-moistened eyes made him rethink. Removing her from the family event would not be appropriate under the situation - probably never. She was used to being removed from situations if she did not act the perfect part. She was used to being replaced and cut off from sympathy and love. A little, toned-down exposure to the team was likely exactly what she needed.

"Well, since you took the pills without a fuss, I guess that you can stay down for a bit," he said, trying to make it sound like it was a big concession instead of being so soft. It had nothing to do with her taking the pills easily. Even if she had shoved them down his throat, he would have been hard-pressed to deny her request.

"Then I want them all to come back to play games."

"I was thinking a movie might be better," Tony said, unexpectedly rambling in from the kitchen. "I brought several choices."

"She will be asleep within fifteen minutes anyway." Gibbs turned to find Ducky whispering in his ear. "The medication will have her feeling quite drowsy as it works to cut her fever and reduce her pain."

"Good job, Duck," Gibbs complimented his friend.

"Anytime, my old friend. Anytime."

The kids agreed on the movie, and back to the kitchen they went to make popcorn.

All except for Tim. He came in and took a seat next to Ziva.

"Hi, McGee," she said softly, ashamed of being weak in front of everyone. Yet she could not force herself to pull away and go to bed. She missed them so much and she really wanted to spend time with them.

"Hi, Ziva," he said, just as abashed. "Uh, sorry for not really calling or visiting. Tony and Abby were just talking about how they've come visited or called and ... I just thought that you would want your space. But ... anyway, I just realized how lonely you must have been and ... sorry."

"It is okay, Tim," Ziva assured him, although he _was_ right - there had been times over the last few days when she had been lonely. But then again, she hated people seeing her when she did not feel well or was restricted in her freedom. She settled on feeling content that she had all her friends there in the moment.

"I brought you some of the sparkling fruit juice that you like. I put it in the fridge for you. And I put a bag of books that I thought you might like on the cupboard out there. Figured you might be bored and enjoy them."

Ziva was touched by the thoughtfulness. "Thank you, Tim," she whispered as Tony, Abby, and Jimmy hurried in with the popcorn, and movie night began!

...

Ten minutes passed.

Ziva was still wide awake as the movie began.

Fifteen minutes had passed.

She was still awake as Tony pelted Tim with popcorn whenever the junior agent's back was turned.

Twenty minutes had passed.

Abby located some blankets so no one would get cold as the night brought the temperature down a few degrees. She retrieved Ziva's new one from her room at the ninja's request.

Twenty-five minutes had passed.

Gibbs was doubting Ducky's medical advice.

"Did she actually take the pills?" Ducky asked.

"Yes. I'm sure of it," Gibbs replied. He knew how to spot a faker and was fairly certain that Ziva had taken the medication.

Twenty-eight and a half minutes had passed.

Her eyes fluttered closed. Gibbs was pleased when they stayed that way, even when she stirred as Ducky checked her temperature again.

As fictional federal agents shot bad guys on the television screen, Gibbs tucked the blanket around her and let her sleep while Abby, Tim, Tony, and Jimmy sat clustered around, their eyes glued to the screen.

For someone who could wake from a "bat nap" at the tiniest sound, she was amazingly able to sleep through massive shootouts and cheering from her team.

By the time the movie ended, it was getting late. As the team tried to quietly pack up to leave, they inadvertently woke her. She groaned a little.

"The medicine is likely starting to wear off now, Ziva. You will need to take another dose."

Ziva grimaced and considered fighting it, but the concerned, covert glances from her teammates changed her mind. She knew without a doubt that Gibbs and Ducky would make her take the pills in the end. It would be better to concede in her own strength rather than be forced to do so after losing a battle that she had no strength to fight. Abby handed her a glass of water, Ducky handed her the pills, and Ziva reluctantly took both. She grimaced a little, but down they went.

"I think it is time for all of you to be getting home and to bed," Gibbs said firmly, turning to the other agents.

"Aww, Gibbs!" Abby protested. "Now that Ziva is awake, we could play a game."

"But Ziva's not feeling well, and you want to play charades," Tim pointed out to the scientist. "Those don't go too well together."

"Then we could play a different game. I'm fine with whatever anyone else wants," Abby compromised.

"No, there will not be any games. All of you have to be at work in the morning and Ziva needs to sleep off her fever."

"A short game?" Someone - Gibbs could not figure out who in the multitude of murmurs - suggested. He turned to Tony. "How about it, Tony? Do you want everyone under you tomorrow being exhausted and prone to making mistakes in the morning?"

Tony suppressed the desire to roll his eyes. None of them would go home and sleep, he was sure. Abby was too hyper for that - she would probably go home and sing and dance or call her best friend Quinta. Tim would likely write until 1:00 to up his word count on a writing challenge in which he was currently participating. He would likely go home and watch more movies online himself. He had no clue what Jimmy and Ducky did in their free time in the evenings, but he doubted that they were running straight home to bed. Even Gibbs would likely be up later than any of them, keeping any eye on Ziva's fever and working on his boat. But Tony understood that Gibbs was relying on him to make the house a quiet place for Ziva to rest and recover.

To make it quiet, he would make it noisy for two minutes as he cleared the grounds.

"You all had a movie and pizza, courtesy of me. We can do it all again soon, but Boss is right. Tomorrow's a work day. Abs, let me help you carry that stuff out to your car. We'll leave the pizza here for Ziva, since I got it for her. Actually, Tim, can you help Abby while I take the trash out? Jimmy, can you grab the empty pop bottles? You take those to the recycling plant the third Monday of each month, don't you, Abby? We'll put them in your car to add to the contributions. Tim, how is the writing project going? Awesome! Jimmy, need a ride home? Jump in with me. Night, Ziva. Save a slice of the leftovers for me in case I find out that my fridge is still empty tomorrow night - I might swing by. Feel better. Night, Boss. Thanks for hosting."

"Night, Tony. Thanks."

Gibbs meant "thanks for everything" and Tony knew it. He grinned and winked as he shepherded all of the younger teammates out of the door.

"I will write up a list of when she needs to take these two different medications that I have given her," Ducky told Gibbs. One needs to be taken with food, so she should take it with her breakfast in the morning."

"Thanks, Duck. I'll make sure that she takes them."

"I can do that on my own!" Ziva protested, sitting up on the couch.

"Very well. I will leave the note here on the kitchen cupboard," Ducky told her, while giving Gibbs a significant look that implied that it would be the older agent that he would hold responsible if the sick girl did not take the medication.

"Going to bed now, Ziver?" Gibbs asked, hoping that she would do so on her own without an enforcement from him.

"I am going to have a shower, and then I will go to bed," she told him wearily.

"If that is what you are going to do, then perhaps I will stay to re-bandage your cut afterwards," Ducky said.

"It is fine, Ducky. I can do it myself," Ziva replied, waving away his concerns.

However, the doctor was not going to be easily fooled again.

"I know that you can, but I do not know if you will. So, until such time as when I believe that I can trust you to take sufficient care for your health, I will be keeping a close eye on your cut myself," Ducky said.

Ziva flushed at the rebuke but could not refute the truth of his words. Although she was not trying to deceive him now, she accepted that she fully deserved his doubt, no matter how painful it might be.

"I will only be five minutes," she promised.

"Take your time," Ducky said gently, sitting down on the vacated couch. "I will wait."

Ziva nodded, then turned and pushed herself to climb the stairs and find the necessary items for preparing for bed.

Left alone, Ducky and Gibbs took a seat. The few seconds of peace were broken by a quick rap on the door.

"Come in, Tony," Gibbs hollered, expecting that the agent had forgotten something while herding everyone out of the door.

"I'm not Tony," Jenny laughed, stepping inside.

"You're late. All the kids have already left," Gibbs grunted.

"Oh, stop that. I had a meeting - _someone _has to do it!"

"The two of you sound like an old married couple," Ducky commented, stopping the small argument from escalating. Gibbs and Jenny both flushed a little at the insinuation.

"How is Ziva?" Jenny asked. "Is the fever down?"

"A little," Ducky answered, "but she needs to take medication for the next few days to keep it so."

"Oh, good," Jenny sighed with a small measure of relief.

"I am rather disappointed she did not trust me to help her this morning," Ducky noted. "Something like that must have been causing her pain for several days now."

"Ever since she climbed out the window, she said" Gibbs supplied.

"The window?"

"Long story. She climbed out a window and up and down a tree the other day."

Jenny spoke. "I took care of the situation, but clearly neither of us thought to actually check that she had not injured herself further."

Gibbs nodded regrettably. "When I talked to her earlier she admitted that it had torn open again with all the climbing and pulling."

"How has she doing emotionally with the two of you?" Ducky asked, leaning back into the couch.

Gibbs exchanged a glance with Jenny, then answered. "Off and on. Sometimes there is the little flicker in her eye - you think she understands, that's she'll be okay. Then she's smashing plates and stomping up and down the stairs. I hope that I'm - we're - helping, Duck, but I have no idea."

"I do."

Gibbs motioned impatiently for Ducky to continue.

"Well, did you not see her earlier?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah. She took the pills 'cause she didn't want everyone to see her get in trouble if she made a big scene."

"No, I was not referring to that - although she did take them without even much of a token argument, which was impressive for her. But I was referring to the fact that she did not run off and hide, trying to get away from everyone. She was not wanting the team to stay just as a buffer between you and her. She wanted the team to stay and for as much as she was awake, she did seem to enjoy it despite the racket that must have bothered her headache. She slept - actually slept - in front of everyone. It took awhile for her to wake up and she allowed that to happen. She is feeling safe here and that - needless to say - is good. I would say that she is beginning to recover a little from her breakdown as well. If only the girl had not decided to risk her health so unnecessarily with refusing to allow me to help her. This will only delay her overall healing process."

Gibbs smiled a little. He had missed that small sign of trust in the middle of all the minor bickering and joking hat accompanied his team like the shell on a turtle's back. Jenny smiled as well, finally seeming to relax.

"I imagine that you are having some issues with house rules?"

"How'd you guess?" Gibbs asked wryly.

"Her personality."

"Yeah, some issues. I spanked her once."

"How did she respond to that?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Acted okay, but hard to tell how she really felt. Jenny was there to comfort her after she had a little cool-down time. Jen's spanked her twice since she came here. Easy to see that she hates it but she seemed more comfortable after the last one. Definitely not Abby level, but not as ashamed as the first time. The time I spanked her it took a lot of assurance from both Jenny and I that we loved her, respected her, and were just concerned for her safety. When Jenny spanked her for climbing out the window, it seemed better. She pretended to sleep, so we just pretended along with her and told her how much we loved her and wanted the best of her while she lay there with her eyes closed."

Jenny smiled as she remembered the occasion. "Silly girl," she said fondly.

Ducky smiled as well. "Ah, she does not understand quite how adept you are at dealing with tricky people."

"Experience with Abs," Gibbs chuckled. He frowned a little as his thoughts returned to a question. "Duck, I want your opinion here. Do you think that we're doing more harm than good in enforcing discipline with her?"

"Yes, we've been wondering that," Jenny seconded.

"I would not say that. I believe that she needs the consistency. She does not need military rigidness, so be careful not to be too strict, policing every little thing."

Gibbs' mouth quirked at the corner and Jenny rolled her eyes a little. Ducky saw and chuckled. "She pushes you and that is how you respond, correct? Ah, well, try to relax on the smaller things and then she will respect that measure of freedom and hopefully obey the main rules. Divide and conquer the big areas, Jethro, not every little sign of temper. What is it that I heard you tell Tony one time? Three ... D's, was it?"

"Direct disobedience, deliberate disrespect, and most of all, putting themselves in danger will always get them a spanking." Gibbs could not help growling out the answer a little at the very thought of his team doing any of the three offenses.

"Then stick with those. Be lenient on the disobedience and disrespect, as so much of what she has been trained to do comes across as disobedient or disrespectful. In those areas she is helpless. It is not her fault and she needs to be taught differently. Gently. Keep her safe. When she jeopardizes that ... like during the past week with refusing to take her of her wound ..." Ducky winced, sadness in his face as he continued. "She does deserve to be disciplined. And you will need to be consistent, because inconsistency will be your greatest enemy as well as hers. She needs to know that she can trust you to be consistent in discipline and loving her. Both are equally important and they are intertwined. Whether or not you chose to spank her for this, make sure that she knows it is unacceptable BUT that you understand why it might be difficult for her to tell you the truth."

"She reacts so differently than the others," Gibbs told Ducky.

"I am not saying to treat her the same. Any parent of multiple children knows that the same technique may not always be effective with different children. The idea is to find what works for each person, then use it as required."

"Oh, and Ducky, we've been wondering something. When I discipline Ziva, she reacts much differently than when Gibbs does - not just with spankings but scoldings as well. She - well, it't not quite crying, but she whimpers and squirms - and acts out with me way more, but with Gibbs she seems terrified to even let herself get teary eyes."

"Ah," Ducky said with a wince. "Let me see how I can say this without betraying any confidences... Try to imagine how you believe a strict father with narcissistic tendencies would treat a child versus how an over-compensating mother would. She had all harshness from one side, all love from another. She may have a difficult time trying to combine the concepts of punishment and love. From Jenny I would assume that it would be easier because the associations are good with a mother figure. For you, Jethro ... it will likely take a long time. Just be gentle when she had difficulties. Maybe over time, you will be able to help her overcome those wrong perceptions, so engraved that she cannot undo it on her own, of what a father figure is."

The bathroom door upstairs squeaked. "Ducky! I am ready!" Ziva called.

"Duty calls," Ducky said, smiling as he stood. He patted Gibbs' shoulder as he passed. "I know that you will find the technique that works for her," he assured both "parents" before heading upstairs to ensure that Ziva was not going to endanger her health anymore.

"I think that I will go up as well to say 'good night'," Jenny said.

"I'll go up when Ducky's done and make sure she's settled down," Gibbs said. Jenny nodded.

"I will tell her."

Gibbs stayed seated on the couch, listening to Ziva and Ducky's muted voices upstairs, then Jenny and Ziva's, while he prayed that he really would manage to help his special girl recover, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

...

**Thanks so much to fiftyshadeswritergal who helped me SO much with this chapter! Her edits were key! **

**Please comment! How do you think Gibbs will discipline Ziva? (I'm still working on that myself!) Should Tony come back the next night? What do you think Ziva might do to keep from getting bored while getting over her infection? **

**See you soon! Hugs!**


	24. Chapter 24 - Grounded

**Hi, everyone! Yep, still alive. Yep, still writing. Yep, still under stress. ;P A family member that I live with has cancer and it is becoming more aggressive. There is a lot of stressful talk about protocols and possible treatments around the globe. If you pray, I'd appreciate it if you could think of me and my family. :) **

**Sadly, stress can affect my writing and editing, but I finally have this ready. This chapter is extremely long and I was going to break it in two, but why not just give you a giant chapter and have the fun of that? I already have the next chapter ready (this was, originally, only HALF of a chapter!) so no stress there. **

**Thanks for all the reviews to those who were patient and encouraging - Troubled-Angel-26, JessicaRae95, A, S (I study psychology too!), Ludy, Fan (thanks for both reviews!), DS2010, Readerxx (I'm glad that you are enjoying and sorry for the wait!), and Guest (not giving up, just tired and too stressed to really enjoy getting into it; I have been working away at writing behind the scenes, just not much on here). Thank you all for waiting - I really needed to take this time, but I hope to be back into writing a lot soon! **

**Also, exciting news - JessicaRae95 helped with editing on this chapter and I really appreciated her help! With fiftyshadeswritergal, I feel like I had a lot of outside perspective on this! (Although I then edited a lot and changed around a lot of stuff, so if there are problems, I probably created them while trying to fix others!) **

**Anyway, now that this has all been said, enjoy! **

**...**

Gibbs stayed up most of the night, just as Tony had guessed, working on his boat and keeping an eye on the clock, waiting for the time when Ziva would need her next dose of medication. When it was time, he quietly entered her room and woke her with gentle words and lots of space so she would not be frightened as she exited sleep. He gave her the medications and a glass of water with a straw. She gulped them down with a tiny groan before falling back against her pillow and drifting off once again. He checked her temperature. It was high but he was relieved that it was not dangerously so. The medication would bring it down again. He went downstairs to sleep on the couch until she needed her next dose in the early morning.

This was not the most enjoyable part of fatherhood, but a part of him was warmed inside to know that he was doing something to take care of Ziva in a way that she had been refusing to let herself receive for years.

Ducky was right. They were making progress - slowly, yes, but surely.

It was good enough for him.

He closed his eyes and slept well until his internal alarm clock, never off by a minute, let him know it was time for yet another round of the medications.

...

Ziva felt significantly better in the morning when she silently made her way down the stairs. She searched the kitchen and found some tea bags and boiled some water to make herself a hot drink. She checked the schedule and took the pills that Ducky had ordered her to take. The coffee maker switched on and she waited until the pot was filled and then poured a hot mug for when Gibbs would come in to the room. It would not hurt to be extra nice to him this morning after their rocky evening. She was under no illusion that he was going to let it slide. Last night what he could say had been limited by the presence of his team, the three people that he considered kids. He would not have wanted to get angry with her in front of them.

The thought of an angry Gibbs made her stomach knot.

But apparently even knotted stomachs can growl from hunger. Fighting fevers and infection must have made her hungry. She went to the fridge, pulled out the containers of fruit, filled a bowl, and poured some milk over the top. She turned to grab a spoon and ran into Gibbs.

"I did not mean to hit you," she muttered, stepping to the side.

"Don't worry about it," he said gently. "You need to take your pills now."

"I already have."

He held her gaze for a minute, ensuring that was the truth, then nodded. "Good."

She shifted a little, understanding his suspicion and dreading the upcoming talk she knew that they would have. She expected him to start in on her right away, but he just picked up the freshly poured cup of coffee with an expression on his face akin to gratitude.

"Feeling better this morning?"

"Yes."

"Good." He lifted the coffee cup in her direction. "Thanks, Ziver."

She smiled a little. She felt pathetic, hanging on his praise so fully, but it felt good.

Gibbs looked along the cupboard, then lifted what he had been looking for - an electric thermometer.

"Before we forget, you need to take your temperature."

"How does it work?" she asked, looking at the little machine that Ducky had left. Growing up, her mother had only used a glass thermometer. This gadget seemed unnecessarily complicated. Gibbs smiled, took it from her, and took her temperature himself.

"You still have a fever," he said with regret in his voice. "You'll be resting today."

"Yes, sir," Ziva responded automatically. She was anxious to stay on his good side - if that were possible after all the lies of the past few days.

_He must be very angry, just not showing it right now because he believes that I could not take the correct level of punishment while sick._

"Eat your breakfast, then I think you should either go back to bed to get some more rest or read. No darts, no television, no phone and no going outside. Actually, when you are done, I need you to go get your phone and put it in the safe where it will stay until I give it back to you."

"Why?" Ziva questioned. It was not that she needed the phone, but she was concerned about why it was being confiscated.

"You're grounded."

"Oh."

_He said before that being grounded would not be fun. I guess today I will find out if it is really as bad as the others all say being grounded is. _

Immediately, self-protection techniques were starting. Ziva had a great many in her arsenal and they were all coming out for a play-date.

First, she questioned his judgement.

_Who does he think he is to ground me? HE should be grounded for being so strict! If he was in my position, he would do the exact same thing! _

Then she tried to blame him.

_If he had just let me go for a walk in the first place, I would have never climbed out of the window and hurt myself again! And if he had made me get checked by Ducky rather than taking him out for tea, then it would have been stopped faster. And if he and Jenny had actually asked me if my side was okay when I got back inside, then I would have been fine too! _

Then she tried to brush off the discipline.

_It does not matter anyway. I do not want my phone anyway! And I do not want to go outside or play darts or watch television anyway! His punishment cannot bother me!_

But all her thought processes were pulled to a stop when Gibbs gravely added, "And when your fever is gone - hopefully by this evening - we are going to have a little chat about all the lies you've been telling me recently."

There went that hope.

She almost wanted to keep the fever forever, just to get out of that coming talk!

...

Ziva, under the watchful eyes of Gibbs, slipped her phone into the safe and let it click shut.

She turned around and crossed her arms.

_There! Now are you happy?!_ she wanted to yell, but she had the distinct impression that would only get her into more trouble. She had tried to avoid having to hand over her phone - she had promised herself that she would not use it, but she had wanted to keep it in her room and thus within her power - but Gibbs had "reminded" her five minutes ago.

"Your phone was supposed to go into the safe right after breakfast. That was two hours ago. I do not want to have to have a discussion with you about obedience today," he had told her before sending her off for the electronic device. He had waited silently until she returned and sulkily put her phone into the small black box that was also housing all of her weapons.

"Good," was all he said, but it was infuriating. She did not want to be "good"! She wanted to do her own thing on her own time!

She stomped back up the stairs and threw herself dramatically onto the bed - wincing as doing so jolted her headache into overtime. She laid back, stared at the ceiling, and joined every grounded youth ever in muttering, "This is NOT FAIR!"

...

The morning was long and boring. Ziva's headache, which persisted despite the medication and all the water Gibbs advised her to drink, prevented her from reading. She tried listening to the radio which she found on the living room bookshelf, but the voices hurt her ears and the underlying static nearly drove her crazy. She was too restless to sleep and despite the various aches and pains through her body, she could not keep still and had to keep rolling over, again and again.

She was surprised when, right before lunch, Gibbs knocked on the door. He entered at her grumpy "come in" and held out his cell phone to her.

"You said that I could not have my phone," she grumbled, refusing to touch the device in case it was some sort of test.

"This isn't yours. It's mine. And Jenny called and as your mother, her calls will always be forwarded."

Ziva noticed how Gibbs so seamlessly called Jenny "your mother." Although in some ways there was a little pain in the innocent reminder that her Ima was gone, there was the homey feel of someone being acknowledged so naturally as her mother. But Ziva, not wanting to show any sentimental side, turned away from the extended phone.

"I do not want to talk to her."

"Ziva ..."

"She already scolded me last night and you are going to scold me tonight. I do not want to hear anything else."

Through what she could tell was a tightly tensed jaw - "Young lady, she wants to talk to you and see how you are."

"Tell her I am alive and I do not want to talk to her since I am grounded from everything remotely enjoyable!"

She could hear the grunt of frustration at the untruth. She tensed. She had onced dared to be a quarter as sassy to her father when she was ill, thinking that perhaps her health issues would grant her a free pass. They had not, and she was rather surprised that she only had one teensy tiny remaining scar from that encounter. She really had deserved more than she got back then.

What would happen now?

No slap. No strike. No push or shove or hair yank.

Just four words.

"We will talk later," Gibbs said into the phone before snapping it shut and leaving the room. Ziva knew that the message was not just for Jenny.

Her stomach re-tied itself into a pretzel shape.

...

Although Ziva was not particularly eager to recover from the fever - she had a suspicion that their "talk" when her fever left was going to involve another sore bottom - Gibbs was adamant that she take the medication at the right times. Tony had stopped by to grab a slice of pizza, keeping his word, but he was on the run, having to rush to a location for a surveillance operation and he got to witness one of their battles.

"Just take it and don't make things worse!" Tony had hissed at Ziva when Gibbs' back was turned to get Ziva another glass of water since she had gulped down the first while "forgetting" the pills. Ziva had finally taken the pill reluctantly after multiple whispered messages of how bad Gibbs could make her grounding ("I know from personal experience!"). When she finally took the medicine, Tony toasted her with his empty water glass, snatched another piece of pizza, and was on his way.

She wished that he would have stayed. She did not like being alone and grounded.

Thanks to Gibbs' careful oversight, her fever was gone by the time Ducky stopped by to check on her. As Ziva went back to finishing her second piece of pizza, Ducky and Gibbs spoke in undetectable tones by the front door for a few minutes before Ducky wished Ziva a good night and left.

Once the doctor was gone - having given his "go ahead" for what had been confided to him as the night's plans by Gibbs - the reluctant father figure turned to her.

"After you finish eating your supper, put your dishes into the sink and then come sit on the couch in the living room. I think we need to have a little talk."

He turned and went to the living room, and Ziva winced behind his back. It seemed that whatever punishment she was going to receive, Gibbs was going to administer it right then and there.

She looked down at remainder of her supper. This whole not-wanting-to-eat feeling was getting very frequent. She glanced in at the living room. Gibbs was sitting on the couch, drinking yet another cup of coffee. She did not exactly want to face him either. Supper was the less threatening option. She slowly chewed each bite, dragging out the experience while trying to think of any excuse that would carry weight with Gibbs.

...

Gibbs sat on the couch, trying to decide what to do once Ziva stopped stalling and came out to talk. He did not know for sure how to deal with the situation, but he had talked with Jenny that morning when she called in to check. Although Ziva had not wanted to talk, he and Jenny had already discussed to what extent Ziva would need to be corrected for her actions. It had been decided that since most of the lying had been to Gibbs, he would be in charge of the discipline. Coupled with Ducky's warning of the night before and just now his "blessing", Gibbs knew that it was time to deal with his newest child. Just how, he was not certain - a rarity for him.

His concerns-bordering-on-worries stopped. He had finally heard Ziva walk to the doorway to the room.

_Ready or not ...! _

"Come 'ere, Zi," he said gently, motioning to the seat beside him when she tried to go to a different chair farther away. She reluctantly switched and sat next to him. She curled up a little, likely a combination of self-soothing and self-protection. She peered nervously at him through the curls that she encouraged to hang across her face like a veil.

"I think we need to talk about what's been going on the past few days," he started.

Silence.

"I think we need to talk about why you felt you needed to lie to me and put yourself in danger rather than let us help you."

"I broke the rules. I did bad things," Ziva admitted, avoiding eye contact. "I ... I deserve to be punished however you see fit."

Gibbs suppressed a sigh. This was going to take awhile.

"I still love you," he stated, deciding to lead with affirming facts. It was important for Ziva to know that she was still loved, no matter how many rules she might break. But by how stiffly she was holding herself, understanding that fact was going to be difficult. And so was explaining it.

Ziva sat as straight as a ramrod and focused on a spot on the wall, staring at it as she said flatly, "You are going to punish me. You do not have to say nice things to me first. Do not worry - I understand. Just punish me now and it will bother both of us less."

"That is NOT how things are going to happen. You are not going to 'just' get 'punished.' I am not just wanting to talk about how I'm going to discipline you because I want to help you!" Gibbs sighed, frustrated as Ziva shrank back even further.

He gave up on this method. There would be no progress with this Ziva, trying to partially hide herself by curling up into the couch cushions.

"Never mind this. Let's go work on my boat."

Ziva's forehead crinkled as she frowned at the sudden change of tone and location.

"Wh...why?" she asked in confusion.

"I think better with busy hands. Don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then we might as well have busy hands. C'mon, Ziver."

He lead her down to the basement, handed her some sandpaper, and led her to the area where he wanted to work. He then grabbed a tool and began working across from her. He was pleased with his decision as he saw her body visibly relax a little as she began to work.

"So Duck says the fever is gone," he started the conversation.

"Yes."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes."

"Did you know that it is okay to not feel okay?"

"Yes?"

Gibbs winced a little at her suspicious tone. "You don't have to say it like a question, Ziver. It really is okay if you are not feeling well. I just want to know that you are okay. I do not think that you are weak if you have to rest or take pain medication - or, when we go back to work, if you need to take a day off if you are not feeling well."

A peek across the boat revealed that Ziva's face was impassive.

_She does not believe me. Time to try a new perspective._

"If I got a cold, would you be angry at me?"

"No!" Ziva snorted.

"Would you think that I was weak?"

"No!" Ziva repeated, confusion in her voice. Suddenly, her expression changed to one of understanding. But still ... Gibbs could see hesitancy. "It is ... different," she whispered.

"How?"

There was a full minute of silence as Ziva suddenly started sanding harder. Gibbs let her focus on the motion. Soon enough she would wear herself out and need a rest. Then they could talk.

"You are never weak," she finally said. "Even if you were ill, you would not be weak."

"Do you think that you are weak if you are ill?" Gibbs asked, flipping the question with ease that a therapist would envy.

"When it is my own fault," Ziva admitted to the sandpaper.

"No one - at least not someone as smart and stubborn as you - chooses to be sick," Gibbs commented. "You can try to take care of yourself and still get sick."

"But this was my fault!" Ziva burst out, clearly angry at herself. "This is all my fault!"

Gibbs chose to be silent. He did not want to say that it wasn't, because her actions had most definitely contributed, but neither did he want to blame her more either. Besides, if he remained silent, he knew that Ziva would feel anxious and immediately try to vindicate her reasoning. Then he could hear the whole story.

"I was the one who climbed out the window and up and down the apple tree. I was the one who did not talk to Ducky. I was the one who was stupid enough to be cut in the first place."

"Hey!" Gibbs said sharply. Ziva tensed and startled at the sharp remark. Gibbs softened his reaction as he said, "You are not at fault for getting cut. You were doing your job and you got injured. Happens to everyone."

She obviously still did not believe him.

"Even I get cut, Ziver, and I've been doing high-risk jobs longer than you have been alive."

It had been worth saying. The tilt of her head revealed that she was carefully considering this information.

"But I should have known that he had a weapon," she told him at last. Her tone was full of self-condemnation. "I should have known that he would cut me."

"You aren't God, Ziva. Give it up. You aren't always going to know. I don't. Jen doesn't. Tony and Tim don't. You are just like the rest of us - imperfect."

Ziva's face hardened at that word and her sanding became furious yet again.

"You think you are perfect?" he asked, purposefully nettling her. He would rather have an explosion now than one later in an uncontrolled situation.

"No," she admitted through tightly locked teeth. Gibbs let her sand for five minutes straight until the angry energy began to wear off and her pace slowed accordingly.

"Why can I not be perfect when I try so hard?" she finally asked, focusing carefully on the curve of the boat. The words had been spun to sound deceptively light, but Gibbs was not fooled. Her question held all the pain of a thousand imperfect moments that she still carried with her, from recent encounters to childhood memories.

"Reality. And no here is going to be mad or disappointed in you if you aren't perfect. Look at me, Ziver. Look up. Good girl. You are doing great and I know that you will only do better. Remember when you first joined and started learning the rules?"

...

Oh, she remembered those first days well! They were a part of her now ... integral to who she was ... who she was becoming ... who she would be next week, next month, next year.

"Yes," Ziva grumbled, angry as she recalled the feelings of helplessness and confusion as she was trying to learn a code of conduct without a guide or pamphlet. It had been frustrating with Tony and Tim constantly quoting numbers and Gibbs always telling her to keep up with his own rules while she was still struggling to differentiate between NCIS and Mossad regulations. It felt like last week - because it had been last week. Much to her chagrin, she was still struggling periodically after nearly a year. She had a better idea of a lot of Gibbs' rules but she still felt behind the others. Despite being a world-class killer, she still had a hard time staying inside of the lines that others placed around her.

"You learned so fast and I was proud to have you join my team. I'm still proud and you're still learning. You can make a hundred more mistakes and I'll still be proud as long as you own up to it, face any consequences, and do your best to prevent it from happening again."

The anger evaporated. Ziva could not help the small smile that crept across her face at hearing that Gibbs was proud of her. He meant it, and she could have wanted no greater prize.

"And now, because part of being responsible is Rule # 45 - clean up your own mess - we need to talk about what's been going on with you."

Ziva sighed in defeat. She had known this was coming and now the moment was here. All happiness at Gibbs' praise and acceptance and pride in her evaporated in an instant.

She was going to be punished.

**...**

**The next chapter should be up soon. It is written, just going through the editing process. **

**Remember to review! Holiday hugs to all! **


	25. Chapter 25 - Basement Discipline

**Thanks for all the well-wishes, everyone! The situation is stressful which is why some days I just don't feel like writing and want to just watch "I Love Lucy" so that I can laugh away my troubles (if only!). Sorry for the delays in responding to reviews, but I'm trying not to force myself too much. **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal and JessicaRae95 for their help in editing! **

**Thanks for the reviews Dalm, Troubled-Angel-26, Queenofwheels, xstargirlx123, DS2010, S, HappyGuest, Fan, Rhi, A, starie78, JessicaRae95, and Tamara. I appreciate the notes and reviews. They always brighten my day, but especially the bad ones! **

**Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you all, as well as Happy Hannukah or any other holiday that is currently celebrated/has recently happened/will soon occur. **

**Now, enjoy! **

**Warning: CONTAINS SPANKING IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**...**

The thought of punishment scared Ziva even though she would never admit to it. She willed herself to focus on the sandpaper moving back and forth on the wood rather than looking up at Gibbs.

"I need to understand something, Ziver. Just answer, okay? I'm not going to discipline you for being truthful now - I just want to know why you lied to me earlier this week."

Ziva did not care about how kindly the question was worded - she still hated it. A few weeks ago she would have even declared that she would never answer it, not in a million years. Now, however? She knew that Gibbs had ways of getting the truth and she had a feeling that he would keep asking until she spilled the peas.

"Were you scared to tell me the truth?" Gibbs prompted.

Ziva grimaced at the word "scared" and resolutely shook her head "no".

"I am not scared of you," she said with as much defiance as she could muster while standing in the very basement where she had heard rumours that Gibbs gave some of his biggest spankings. She might have had reason to be concerned ... especially as she had the feeling that she was lying right then.

He did not play into the trap to get him riled and distracted from the original question.

"If you are not scared of telling me the truth, then why did you lie?"

She did not answer.

_Please just let him forget the question and me and everything that I have done this last week!_

He did not.

She was trying to play his game, but he was the champion.

The two of them sanded that boat for half an hour in silence. Gibbs did not say a single word aside from an occasional "more here" as he pointed her to a new area to work.

But Ziva's thoughts were not very quiet as they tumbled through her head.

_Why did I do it?_

_Was it because I was scared of Gibbs?_

_No! I am not scared of anyone!_

_Was it because I wanted to make him angry?_

_No! I do not want him angry._

_Was it because I wanted to break the rules?_

_No! Those rules are nothing to me!_

_Was it because I had it all under control?_

_I did have it under control!_

At least, that was what she thought at first.

She had lots of time, and the questions repeated themselves, forcing her to be a little more honest.

_Why?_

_Maybe I was ... not scared ... concerned about he would react. Yes, concerned. I was concerned about him being angry._

_Did I want to make him angry?_

_Maybe I wanted to see how he would treat me if he got angry. But he is not acting angry and I am glad because I really do not want to have to fight him while I am ill. Perhaps when I am better ... but not today. Not now._

_Was it because I wanted to break the rules?_

_Yes, but it was not all about the rules. Of course, I am not used to those kinds of rules being enforced in my life and it can be strange and difficult to listen to them. I usually do not want to listen to them. I want to live all on my own. But when I am on my own, I do not have the same kind of love all around me._

_Was it because I had it all under control?_

_No. I did not. I wanted to have it all under control, but that was a failure and I knew it!_

She sighed loudly.

"I do not know why," she admitted, breaking the silence.

Gibbs looked up and gave a little nod of encouragement.

"Keep thinking. I'm sure you've got some possible reason."

Even though he only said a few words here and there, the words that Gibbs chose always made an impact.

"A ... few," Ziva admitted.

"Let's hear 'em."

"I want to do it on my own. I thought that I was fine."

"But were you?"

Ziva bit her lip, then reluctantly admitted, "No."

"And did you know that before yesterday?"

"A ... little."

"Yes, or no, Ziva."

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me or Ducky?"

"Because I did not want to be in trouble," she admitted with a big sigh.

"But not telling us got you in a lot more trouble," Gibbs replied, setting down his tools to focus solely on her. "I am going to discipline you, Ziva, but first I want to make sure that you understand - I am going to discipline you for being deceptive, not for being hurt in the first place. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Say it back to me."

"You are disciplining me."

"Why?"

"Because I ..." she faltered.

"Because you what?"

She paused and rethought what Gibbs had told her. Understanding lit up her face unexpectedly as she recalled his words. "You are going to discipline me because I lied to you and did not tell you the truth when you asked. But ... you are not upset that I got hurt?"

...

"No. I don't like that you got hurt, but I am never going to punish you for being hurt. However, I will be disciplining you for your other disobedience."

Gibbs pulled a work bench out a little and sat down, watching her sand nervously. He hated to have to do this, but everyone - aside from Ziva herself - was agreed. He needed to stay firm.

"First, your grounding will be continued for a while." He saw her stiffen a little and continued. "You have been told to take care of yourself, and although you are not in trouble for getting hurt, I think you need to have some consequences for endangering your health by refusing to get help. I know that you might not think this is fair, but we told you that risking your health is not going to be tolerated. I think that some time to think about why you need to take good care of yourself is warranted. Do you understand?"

"For how long?" Ziva mumbled.

"Until Ducky thinks that your cut is healed enough for him not to worry about it getting reinfected."

Ziva huffed unhappily.

"You got a problem?" Gibbs asked warningly, hoping for her to drop the attitude.

""Ducky will take forever to say that I am okay!" she complained.

Gibbs had to keep from chuckling at her morose tone, instead scolding, "That is a natural consequence of your decision, Ziva. Good behaviour should allow your body to heal faster. If you follow the rules, then maybe some of the restrictions can be lifted early. Do you understand?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"I need you to say it, Ziva."

"Yes."

"Good. Now, we also need to deal with this matter of lying. You've been doing it for quite a while, haven't you?"

Ziva's miserable nod rivaled those of Abby's. It was clear that she knew that she was in for a spanking and was dreading it. So was Gibbs for that matter.

"Thank you for admitting that, Ziva. Now, do you remember the consequences for lying?"

"Maybe," Ziva hedged.

"You will always get spanked for lying, Ziva. _Always._ I need to be able to trust you and you broke that trust this week. If I can't trust you to tell me the truth about being in pain or needing to talk to Ducky, then how can I trust you in other areas?"

Ziva's face was turning red. Probably partly because she was still a little sick and needed to rest, but he was certain that a good amount was from embarrassment and regret.

"You can trust me," she said softly. Gibbs shook his head.

"I want to, Ziver, but I need you to be truthful with me so that I can be sure."

Ziva's eyes were threatening to tear up a little and she blinked hard.

Gibbs saw that the message had hit home. Ziva was guilty and sorry.

_No need for more scolding. Time to get this finished._

"Do you have any questions about your consequences?"

Ziva shook her head sadly. Gibbs was so tempted to call off the whole punishment seeing her miserable state, but he did not. He braced himself before quirking his finger at her.

"Come here, Ziva."

Ziva did not say anything, just put away the sandpaper that she had been holding and slowly came to his side.

...

Ziva's tummy flipped a little as she dragged her feet to stand next to Gibbs' side. She looked down at his lap and gulped a little.

_I do NOT want a spanking!_

"Why are you getting this spanking, Ziva?" Gibbs asked calmly, taking her hand and looking at her with sympathy and sternness.

She shook her head a little in protest, but a gentle squeeze of her hand produced, "Because I lied."

"Good girl. Now bend over."

"No! I do not want to bend over," Ziva mumbled unhappily, worry thick in her voice as all hope of escape disappeared.

"Don't say 'no' to me, young lady!" Gibbs said in a scolding tone. He could see that she was just trying to delay, not actually telling him that she could or would not accept the discipline. One half-step toward him confirmed that. He kept scolding. "You're getting spanked for lying. I don't think you want me to have to spank you for being disrespectful as well."

Ziva hung her head and shifted back and forth next to his knee but still made no move to bend over.

"I'll help you if you don't want to do it on your own," Gibbs said after a moment of inaction. He took a firmer grip on her hand as he began to pull her down across his lap. Her stomach had the funny feeling that she used to get when she swung too high on a swing.

"Move forward," Gibbs told her. His hand rested on her hip and his arm was a warm weight on her back.

Ziva shook her head again, staying as still as possible. Moving forward would put her bottom in the best place to be spanked and she did not want that.

Her unwillingness did not seem to affect Gibbs at all. He firmly moved her forward on his lap. She kicked her feet a little, desperate to keep touching the floor. The position that she was now in only allowed her to keep the very tips of her toes on the floor and that was only with trying. She dreaded what would happen when the spanking would force her focus to be elsewhere. She knew that keeping her current precarious position would be next to impossible.

_I will feel just like a little child if I cannot touch the floor,_ she determined sadly.

This whole business of being disciplined was rather disheartening on her end.

"You comfortable?" Gibbs asked.

"No!" Ziva protested, her head snapping up as she tried to look Gibbs in the face. It was difficult to do given her current position.

"What's the matter?"

"My legs cannot touch the floor!"

"That's good."

"No, it is not!" Ziva argued nervously. It was starting to hurt her neck holding it up this way.

Gibbs patted her back. "If you can touch the ground, I'm pretty sure you'll wiggle out of position and possibly get hurt if I spank you in the wrong area if you move suddenly. You are in the right position for a spanking, like it or not."

"I do _not_ like it!"

"I don't know anybody who does. Just try to relax a little, Ziver. I know it is hard to do but the spanking will be fast and over soon. I'm not going to ask you as many questions this time, but if at any point you feel like you cannot emotionally take any more, tell me. Understand?"

"Yes," Ziva said gloomily, dropping her head down at last. She had a good view of Gibbs' shoes and the basement floor.

"Anything you want to say before we begin?"

"I do not like it!"

"I know, Zi, I know. Anything else?"

"How ..." She paused shyly, worried that the question she wanted to ask would make her sound weak or aggravate Gibbs.

"'How' what?"

"How ... many spanks are you giving me?"

"Like I said last time, a certain number of spanks does not guarantee fair discipline. I only told you last time since it was your first time. I can tell you that this time will be a little harder and longer but nothing beyond what I believe is manageable for you or appropriate under the circumstances."

_I do not want to manage any spanks at all! _

"You, Ziva David, are getting a spanking for lying to me, Ducky, and Jenny. I'm disappointed in your actions, young lady. I know that you can do better and that's what I'm trying to help you learn. Now, take a deep breath, Little One."

She did, just in time to gasp when the first SPANK! landed on her bottom.

Ziva hated that she had just involuntarily reacted to the spanking already and gritted her teeth.

SPANK!

SPANK!

The stinging had now begun and staying on her tip toes was difficult.

SPANK!

SPANK!

"Why are you being spanked?"

Ziva paused, trying to catch her breath and to formulate her answer.

"Because ..." She paused, frowning a little as the spanks sunk in and she felt the sting. She tried to wiggle backwards a little so that her feet would touch the floor but ...

SPANK!

"Ziva, I asked you a question. You need to answer," Gibbs said sternly, tightening his hold around her waist to stop her wiggling.

"Because I lied!" Her voice had come out a little more shaky that she would have wanted but she had still answered.

"Good girl. Thank you for answering."

SPANK!

SPANK!

For some reason, this time the spanks hurt more. Perhaps it was because they had already reached eight spanks - the point where Gibbs had stopped last time - and Gibbs did not seem to be finishing up yet. Perhaps it was because it was due to her fever having increased her pain perception. Perhaps it was because her adrenaline levels were lower than during the first spanking from Gibbs. And perhaps it was because she felt more guilty over this incident than last time. It was hard to be sure. All she knew was that she thoroughly hated being spanked and that she just wanted it to be over!

...

Gibbs had felt her trying to wiggle away from him when he had asked her to answer the question. He had trapped her firmly and kept her from any more escape techniques. Now he was pausing before continuing the spanking. With his experience, he could tell that this spanking was hurting more than last time. He was spanking a little harder but it was not unduly hard. It was a little less firm than he would use on Abby for the same length of spanking. He settled on the fact that Ziva was processing this one more. He had asked her to recall why she was being spanked, but aside from that he could tell from the wiggling and stiffening that she was fully present.

SPANK!

She squirmed that time, pushing with her feet as much as possible.

"Stay still, Ziva. Now, is lying about your health something that you are going to do again?"

"No," she whimpered.

"Good answer."

He tilted her forward with his knee and raised his hand again, aiming for her sit spots.

SPANK! SPANK!

...

Ziva could not help it - she gasped out loud as the sharp sting settled in to the most tender spots on her bottom. She could not help kicking out but Gibbs' expert tilt of her over his knee had removed all access to the floor.

SPANK!

The center of her bottom stung like crazy. Aside from the sting, there was an underlying pain all over her bottom as the whole area had started to throb.

"No more lying, young lady."

"I am sorry!" She said the bitter words which seemed less poisonous when said to Gibbs than when she had been forced to say them to her biological father over the years. The sincerity of her apology was dubious as it was given under duress but perhaps Gibbs would have mercy and immediately stop the punishment. Ziva hardly dared to hope, but Gibbs rested his hand against her back. It was a small sign of hope that the punishment was almost over.

"Good girl. What you did was very naughty but we all still love you. No more lying and breaking the rules. Understood?"

"I understand," Ziva quavered.

"Hold still. We are almost done."

He bent her forward a little bit more, then continued.

SPANK!

Her right sit spot felt like it had been set aflame.

SPANK!

Her left sit spot tingled with an identical sharp sting.

SPANK!

The middle of her bottom once again felt the strong pain of correction.

Then suddenly she caught the words - "All done. We're all done, Ziver."

...

Gibbs took a deep breath himself as Ziva squirmed helplessly during the final three spanks. She had received nearly double the number of spanks as her first time, but he was proud of how well she had taken it. He just hoped that now that it was over that she would learn from the experience and be able to move on with her life.

"Shh shh," he said soothingly. She was not actually crying but her breathing was heavier and he figured that the common child-calming technique would help reach through her post-spanking fog and tap into memories of her mother's love.

If her body's relaxation was anything to go by, it was working.

...

Ziva felt her body begin to relax as she remained bent over Gibbs' knee. She realized that the spanking was done but she was not quite as desperate to get away from him as she had been the first time. She did try to stand up, but her feet were still lifted up enough that it was difficult to do so.

Gibbs seemed to understand her struggle and slowly helped lift her to her feet.

"You gonna be good?" he asked, rubbing a little circle on her should as he continued to hold her up while she regained her balance and emotional control.

Ziva paused, then nodded.

...

Gibbs started to reach out, then paused.

Oh, it hurt his heart to have to be so careful about hugging his kid, but he did not want to scare her.

..

Ziva saw the arms open and then saw Gibbs pause.

_He does not want to scare me. _

She paused for a moment too before looking up at him with her big brown eyes, moist with unshed tears. She could not lift her arms to reach out, but Gibbs understood her look.

...

_She wants me to hug her! _

He pulled her forward and into an embrace. Ziva only tolerated the hug for about ten seconds - but at least she had made it that far. Then, embarrassed, she ducked away. But as she turned away from him, he saw the reluctance in her face.

_She may be stepping away for her pride, but she wanted for it to last longer._

"Want to head upstairs for a snack before bed?" he offered as an out to her current emotional discomfort.

Ziva nodded, and headed for the stairs.

Gibbs gently stopped her and put his arm around her shoulders.

For now, it was time to move on - _together._

"Thanks for the help on the boat, Little One," he said softly, kissing the top of her head as he lead her upstairs.

...

**I hope that you enjoyed. It was long ... so bonus point? **

**Hugs, MM (P.S. Please remember to review if you have a second! I'd love it if you could!)**


	26. Chapter 26 - The Grounding Goes One

**Hi, everyone! Finally back with a new chapter! **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for her wonderful help in editing! Thanks to Queenofwheels, DS2010, Dalm, fiftyshadeswritergal, Gibbs4Eva, Troubled-Angel-26, xstargirlx123, Fashionista-girl, S, HappyGuest, Fan, Ludy, Guestxx, KrisShannon, Dawn248, and Rhi. All your comments were so wonderful and encouraging. Sorry that I did not have time to respond to them all. I'm still adjusting back to school. **

**I hope that you are all having a wonderful first part of 2020. To anyone who does not know, fiftyshadeswritergal and I have been co-writing a Christmas story (on my account this time). It is called "The Christmas Challenge." We had wanted to have it put up at Christmas but we were a little to busy to be able to post at that time. Anyway, if you still could use a little Christmas spirit, please stop by that story. We are having lots of fun! **

**Anyway, let's see how Ziva is doing!**

**...**

That night Ziva slept on her unhurt side rather than on her back, but she seemed to sleep a lot better than she had in a while. She told herself that it was just because the medicine that Ducky had given her made her sleepy, but she strongly suspected that getting rid of all that guilt was the real reason. Maybe the tired yet peaceful feeling after being spanked had helped as well.

But being guilt-free did not necessarily make her grounding more bearable.

Now that she was not allowed to have her phone, Ziva found that she missed it. Now that she was not allowed to go outside to play darts, it seemed like the sun was so much brighter and more inviting. Now that her weapons were all locked away she wondered if they were as clean as they should be. The pile of dvds that Tony had left for her seemed to taunt her, while the books that Tim had left seemed insufferably boring. The walls seemed to be closing in around her. There was nothing to do! She flopped onto the couch and sighed dramatically, hoping that doing so might annoy Gibbs into giving her back her freedom.

No such luck.

She offered to wash dishes, splashing more water on the floor and cabinets than on the dishes themselves.

Gibbs told her where the rags were.

Ziva sloppily wiped up some of the water - then she felt guilty and went back to thoroughly dry each wet area.

She found a hammer and nails in the closet and decided that she would hang up some of the pictures that Abby had left on her dresser in their room.

Gibbs came up to check on her when he heard the banging but then thanked her for taking care of the task, certain that Abby would appreciate it.

Ziva wanted to pound a hole right through the wall, but settled for hanging up the photos for Abby. She was unexpectedly delighted to find a beautifully framed picture of the two of them at a party making silly faces together. It was nice to know that Abby treasured memories of them together so much that she would frame the photos. Ziva hung that picture in the most prominent place.

She found an old vacuum cleaner and whirred it back and forth upstairs, stomping the entire time.

"Thanks for cleaning. I'm sure the house could use it," Gibbs hollered up the stairs.

Ziva immediately yanked the cord out of the electrical socket and jammed the rickety machine back into the cleaning closet.

She opened every window in the house despite the breeze being quite chilly. She boiled tea kettle after tea kettle of water on the stove without drinking a single cup of tea, just to let the shrill whistle bother Gibbs. She swept the floor and left the pile of dirt right in front of the basement door. She bumped and banged and smashed around the little house.

Gibbs did not react to anything that she did!

When Jenny stopped by for lunch - a long Saturday morning for her being forced to work at the office but an even longer one for Gibbs with the provoking young lady rushing around the house - Ziva gave up trying to annoy Gibbs for a bit to visit with Jenny.

"What did you do so far today, Ziva?" Jenny asked, washing her hands in the kitchen.

"Go ahead and tell her, Ziva," Gibbs coaxed from the kitchen where he was taking some trout from the freezer to fry for lunch.

Ziva blushed a little.

"Nothing," she murmured.

"Why not tell her about how many chores you did?" Gibbs prompted.

"Oh, so you've been helping a lot?" Jenny asked

"Yes," Ziva said uncertainly.

Jenny caught the note of hesitancy.

"What exactly did you help Gibbs do?" she asked.

"I ... I swept the floor and ... and put nails in the wall for Abby's photos and I ... washed dishes and ..."

"Why are you stammering?" Jenny asked, reaching over and lifting Ziva's chin with her finger. "What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing," Ziva said, turning away.

"Are you sure that 'nothing' happened?" Jenny asked. She was biting her lip to keep from laughing at how guilty Ziva was looking.

"Oh, she took care of nearly every messy or loud chore possible - or at least the first half," Gibbs said, setting a frying pan on the stove and turning around. He smiled at the blushing Ziva. "Being grounded is harder than you thought it would be, isn't it?"

Ziva wanted to sink through the floor. Her behaviour through the first half of the day really was not stellar or mature and she hated for Jenny to be learning about it. But Jenny did not seem to be too upset about the news.

"I always hated being grounded too," Jenny whispered conspiratorially. Her voice became a little more stern as she added, "Although that is not an excuse for acting out, is it, Zi?"

"No, ma'am," she admitted.

"Good," Jenny said briskly. "I brought you a brain teaser book that I thought that you might enjoy." She handed the book over. Ziva opened it and noticed some writing on the first page.

_Dear Ziva,_

_This is not a reward for misbehaviour, but Jethro said that you needed something besides vacuuming to keep you entertained. I thought this might be quieter._

_I love you and want the best for you, as does Jethro._

_Love forever,_

_Jenny_

Ziva smiled and put the book down on the coffee table.

"Thank you," she said softly. She was not going to admit it, but she was very thankful for the book. Perhaps it would help the rest of her "imprisonment" go a little faster.

"You're welcome, darling," Jenny said, kissing her cheek before standing and heading to the kitchen. "Jethro, don't cook the fish right away. I brought those little potatoes and they take longer to cook."

Ziva leaned back in the sofa and listened to the chatter in the kitchen. She considered starting on the book, but she would probably need to save the amusement for later. Although...

"Gibbs, when is Ducky coming next?"

"Probably tomorrow. Why? Are you in pain?"

"No," Ziva answered, cheerfully honest.

Gibbs suddenly caught what she was trying to do.

"We can check with Ducky, but I'm pretty sure that you'll be grounded for at least the rest of this week," Gibbs warned. Ziva's face dropped a little.

"I already got in trouble. Why do I have to be grounded too?" she muttered unhappily under her breath, flopping back onto the sofa.

"Because what you did was dangerous and wrong," Gibbs answered.

Ziva frowned at the reminder that Gibbs' incredible hearing could pick up her quietest grumbling.

"Work on your book. It might help you avoid getting in more trouble," Jenny advised with amusement in her voice.

Ziva rolled her eyes. At least Gibbs could not see through her head.

"And don't roll your eyes."

But apparently Jenny could.

Ziva grabbed the book and headed up to her room where she could be alone. She needed a break from the annoying adults that kept treating her like their child.

Although not all of it was that annoying if she was honest.

...

Alone in her room, Ziva began to work on one of the word search. She had left the bedroom door open so she could here Jenny and Gibbs working. She liked hearing the rattle and clink of dishes and the calming murmur of their voices. She curled up on the bed and began to circle, clarifying words from the jumble of letters.

"The next word is ... family," she muttered. A loud smash in the kitchen made her freeze.

"It's just a pot," she heard Jenny call out for her benefit, but Ziva remained frozen.

_CRASH! _

_So stupid. _

_SMACK!_

_Stop ruining everything, you foolish girl! _

_SMACK! _

_Why can you not do anything right? Why are you such a disappointment? _

..

The words pounded through Ziva's head again and again. It was like a nightmare while she was still awake, and it was just an inescapable.

At least it was until Jenny walked into the room.

"Zi, why aren't you coming? I've been calling for you to come down for lunch. I know that you are upset, but pouting is going to get you nowhere. And I have to go back to work in forty-five minutes and I would like to be able to eat with you. Wait ... honey? Are you upset? What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," Ziva muttered. But there was.

And Jenny knew. She took a seat on the edge of the bed and pulled Ziva into a big hug.

"I love you, sweetie. You are safe here, Ziva, always and forever."

Ziva stayed still in Jenny's arms, but she slowly began to relax.

"Something scared you?" Jenny asked, recognizing the shut down that often followed when Ziva had been triggered.

Ziva managed a tiny jerk of a nod.

"Want to tell me about it?"

"No," Ziva squeaked.

"It's okay. It's okay," Jenny said gently, rocking her back and forth. "I love you. Gibbs loves you. Ducky loves you. We all you so much, darling. So, so much. We wish we could take away all the bad memories. All we can do right now is try to help you now. How can I do that for you?"

"Do not ... let ... go."

"I won't. I promise. We'll stay here until you are ready."

And they did.

...

**Please remember to review! **


	27. Chapter 27 - Impatience and Involvement

**Finally back with another chapter. Sorry that it took me so long to update this! **

**Thanks to all the reviewers - Troubled-Angel-26, Fan, DS2010, Fashionista-girl, Loads of Randomness, S, HappyGuest, Ludy, JessicaRae95, Rhi, and KrisShannon. You are all such wonderful readers and I appreciate your patience with my long delays between updates lately! I am making up for it today - I posted "Snakes and Scares" (a one-shot with a surprising backstory!); I posted the last chapter of "The Finding of Cable"; I added another chapter of "In A Different Way"; and I updated my co-story with fiftyshadeswritergal, "The Christmas Challenge". I hope that you will be able to enjoy the account-wide update. Hopefully I will be able to update more regularly now that I am readjusting to my school schedule!**

**Thank you to fiftyshadeswritergal who offered some wonderful editing advice (with short notice!). I appreciate your hard work and your insightful ideas and suggestions! **

**Enjoy! **

**...**

Shortly after Jenny returned to the office to take care of some calls that had only been able to be scheduled that weekend, Ducky stopped by to visit his patient.

"Ducky, I will do anything! Please tell Gibbs that I am better!" Ziva pleaded.

"I cannot do that, Ziva," Ducky said seriously. "You are still healing and I cannot tell him that you are recovered without lying."

"Then lie!"

"Ziva!" Ducky's tone was censuring and shocked.

"Just a little lie!" Ziva protested.

"It is not, and even if it was a little lie my answer still would not change."

"Ducky, I will pay you whatever you want!"

"I do not take bribes."

"A hundred?"

"No. You will 'pay' me with respect toward your health and physical condition." Ducky was becoming more stern as Ziva's frustration mounted.

"Will threatening you work?" Ziva asked hopefully.

Ducky was horrified. "Ziva, one more word and I will have Gibbs deal with you!"

"But I have been grounded forever - an entire two days and I am tired of it! Gibbs makes me do chores in the morning, rest in the afternoon, go to bed on time, and follow all those rules! He is a tyrant!" Ziva grumbled in self-righteous indignation. "That is far too long to keep me imprisoned and he will only let me free when you tell him to do so."

"Oh, dear," Ducky said gently, sitting next to her and patting her shoulder. "I wish that I could end your grounding in good conscience, Ziva, but I cannot - not yet."

"Then when?"

"When your side is better."

"How long will that take?" Ziva asked, grumpy yet resigned. Ducky had to hide his amusement at her amusing little pout.

"If you behave and take care of yourself, perhaps a week."

"A WEEK?!" Ziva yelled, jumping to her feet. She moved her hands in frustration. "I will NEVER survive a week!"

"Zi..."

"I never will! I will go crazy! Gibbs will not let me outside. He will not let me use my phone. He will make me go to bed even though I am NOT tired! He will ..."

"Only if you keep breaking the rules," Gibbs said from the doorway. Ziva turned around and frowned and both him and Ducky, but Gibbs could see that she was listening. He continued, "As you may remember, Ziva, I told you that if you behave you can earn back some of your privileges before your grounding is over. But you need to show me that you are trying to behave - and acting up with Ducky isn't doing that."

Ziva gritted her teeth, but slowly nodded her acceptance.

"How about you go ... read or something," Gibbs said. Ziva glared a little, then remembered that he had said that if she behaved she might have hope of regaining some lost privileges. She desperately wanted the darts and her weapons back, so for their sake she lost some of the defiance and obediently left the room so that Gibbs and Ducky could visit privately for a moment before Ducky went in to work.

"She's a good girl, really," Ducky said optimistically.

"I know," Gibbs said. "She just has a hard time showing it at points."

"Poor child."

"Yeah."

"She's desperate for her grounding to be over."

Gibbs smiled wryly. "I've noticed."

"Why did you have to include me in this discipline situation?" Ducky grumbled.

"Because she was lying to you and endangering her health! What? You wanted me to let it go?"

Ducky shook his head in frustration. "Not at all, but ..."

"Being in charge of discipline is harder than you thought?" Gibbs asked with a knowing chuckle.

"When she - Miss David of Mossad - is begging me to 'set her free'? Yes, it is hard!"

Gibbs laughed and slapped his old friend on the back. "Welcome to my world, Duck. Want some coffee before you go?"

"Normally I would say 'no', but after that? I think I need the sustenance!"

...

"But Gibbs! PLEASE let Ziva come with us!" Abby begged on the phone. "I really want her to be able to come this movie with us. We've planned such a fun night and all of us agree - the only thing that we need to have the BEST night ever is to have Ziva with us too!"

Gibbs rubbed his temple. He could hear Ziva stomping around upstairs - he would never cease wondering how she could go from a tread quieter than a cat's to sounding like a bull elephant. She was vacuuming so at least he did not have to worry about her overhearing his phone call with the scientist and joining in with her own whining.

"Abs," he said patiently, "you know how it is when you are grounded. It is fine for you to come visit her but she is not going out with you and others."

"But...!"

"She is not going. I'm letting her watch a movie tonight when Jenny comes to visit, but that will be here at home - not out at a theater."

"Gibbs, it would only be for a few hours. I promise!"

"Abs, the answer is no."

There was a long silence that Gibbs knew instinctively was due to Abby pouting on the other end of the line.

"I know you don't like it ..."

"That's an understatement!"

"Abby."

Pause. Reluctantly - "Yeah?"

"I know that it is upsetting, and I wish that I could say 'yes,' but Ziva is getting the same treatment that you or the boys would get if any of you were grounded. She is not going to the movies."

There was another long silence.

"Okay," Abby said sadly. Suddenly there was a happy lilt to her voice as she said, "I understand, Gibbs. I'll talk to you soon. Love you!"

She was gone before he could say goodbye or - more importantly - question why she was sounding so mischievous.

...

Ziva lay on her stomach and kicked the bed lightly, more from boredom than frustration. Gibbs kept insisting that she lie down and rest. Today, like any other day, she did not want to but Jenny was going to be returning for another visit that night and Gibbs had promised that if she behaved that she would be able to watch a movie with them even though she was still grounded. It was not quite on par with her weapons being returned, but it was enough to make her clamp her teeth and behave even when she wanted nothing more than to throw a tantrum or climb out her window - and run away this time!

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she mumbled. She looked up as Gibbs entered the room and smiled at her.

"Mind if we talk for a bit?" he asked.

Ziva looked at him suspiciously - was he hiding annoyance toward her for some reason? Was she in trouble? Was he going to ground her for even longer? Why ...?

"I'm not upset about anything, just wanting to connect with you," Gibbs clarified, seeing the indecision in her face.

What does that mean?

"You can sit down," she offered cautiously, sitting up on her bed while watching him. Gibbs took a seat on a chair and smiled at her.

"Ziver, you know that I'm not mad at you, right?"

She did not respond. After growing up around people who were mad at her all the time, she had a difficult time separating anger from other emotions. Gibbs did not seem mad, but she might not just able to detect it. Maybe he was hiding it. Maybe ...

"I'm not mad," Gibbs affirmed. He picked up a book from the bedside table and flipped it over to read the back. "This interesting?"

Ziva shrugged. It was, but she was not going to let Gibbs know that. It would be best to present her grounding as the most depriving experience possible.

"It looks interesting."

Ziva shrugged again. She had been so bored the other day that she had started reading an old dictionary. She was trying to act "aloof."

"You've been doing a good job, Zi," he praised, setting the book back onto the night table. "I'm glad that you are following the rules."

Ziva relaxed a little and leaned back against the headboard.

"It is hard," she admitted.

"I know." He reached over and took her hand and have it a gentle squeeze. "I love you, Ziver. I do. That's why you have to be disciplined and that's why you're grounded right now."

"I do not like it," she muttered, crossing her arms.

"I know and that's okay. Just keep behaving and it'll go faster."

Ziva's eyes squinted in skepticism. Gibbs chuckled and stood.

"How about you come down and help me get supper ready? Then when Jen comes back you can choose a movie for us to watch."

Ziva smiled a little. At least cooking would be more interesting than lying on her bed. She jumped to her feet.

"What are we making?" she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice as she hurried down the stairs after him.

...

Ziva thrived in the kitchen and eagerly joined in helping Gibbs prepare dinner. She had some very definite ideas of what spices and vegetables to combine with the rice dish that Gibbs had suggested. Gibbs opposed some selections, but yielded when he saw how determined she was. When they tasted the final product, he had to agree - she knew what she was doing.

High on his praise, Ziva was in one of her very best moods when Jenny arrived.

"What is that?" Ziva asked, taking a container from Jenny.

"That is my vanilla, pineapple, strawberry, and coconut five layer cake," Jenny said. "I made it last night and saved it as a special treat for you. I have to go away for a trip early tomorrow morning, so I will not see you until Monday. I wanted tonight to be a little extra fun, even if you still have to be grounded."

"Oh! That is so yummy!" Ziva sighed happily, carrying the delicious dessert into the kitchen carefully, ignoring the comments about still being grounded. She set it on the counter before turning back to Jenny, spotting a second dish. "And what is that?"

"Meatballs. You and Gibbs made rice and vegetables, right? They should go well together."

Ziva nodded and smiled. "I chose how the rice was made, so it is very good."

"Are you saying I don't know how to make rice?" Gibbs asked over his shoulder as he took plates and cutlery out of the cupboards and drawers.

"Not as good as I make," Ziva said confidently.

Jenny grabbed a fork, took a small taste, then shot Gibbs an amused look as he started serving the plates.

"I have to agree with Zi!"

"Fine! Let's just not forget that I paid for the ingredients, so I made some small contribution," he said dryly. "Now, how about we eat this wonderful dinner made by two beautiful and talented chefs?"

Ziva was absolutely beaming at that point. Her attitude was significantly better than any other time that the three had eaten together and both Gibbs and Jenny appreciated the difference as well. For the first time in a long time, the Gibbs house was the site of a peaceful family dinner.

Until there was a knock on the door.

...

**I wonder who is at the door? ;)**


	28. Chapter 28 - Movie Meddling

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed - Fashionista-girl, fiftyshadeswritergal, Troubled-Angel-26, JessicaRae95 (300th review!), xstargirlx123, S, Rhi, Fan, DS2010, Just Me, EnciscoCH, and HappyGuest! **

**Have a wonderful weekend! I am celebrating my birthday! :) :D :) God bless! **

**Enjoy!**

**...**

"I'll get it," Gibbs said. "You two go ahead and bless the food and eat."

"Wonderful," Ziva said, no qualms shown about continuing dinner without Gibbs. She was hungry. He could catch up later. Gibbs just shook his head and headed to greet the surprise visitor.

_I wonder who could be here. Must be the neighbour needing a favour._

But one look at the three young people on the other side of the door changed his mind.

"Abby. DiNozzo. McGee," he said, giving Abby a stern look as he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. "What are you doing here?" he asked, directing the question particularly to Abby.

"We came to visit," Abby replied quickly. She gave a weak smile as he frowned at her.

"I already told you, Abby - Ziva is not allowed to go to the movies tonight. Coming here to beg is only going to get me annoyed and make Ziva feel left out. I didn't tell her earlier, but now she'll figure it out."

"PLEASE, Gibbs! We'll just be gone for a few hours!" Abby said cheerfully. Her voice wavered a little, showing a tiny bit of doubt that she was going to charm herself past Gibbs' "no" but she was going to try her best.

"Ziva is grounded," Gibbs repeated. "You all know that what means since you've all been there."

McGee and DiNozzo shuffled their feet and looked away, disliking the reminder of past chastisement. Abby was not so abashed.

"Then on to Plan B. You said that you were going to watch a movie with her tonight. We figured that you would say no - although it was worth a try - so we had decided that we want to watch your movie with you!" Abby declared, pushing toward the front door.

Gibbs hesitated. It was not that he did not want them there for the evening, but including the three rowdy arrivals would mean that the calm evening ahead had been assassinated and usurped. But hesitation was always a fatal flaw when Abby was at her most persuasive. She leaped on the pause and added, "Please!" with her sweetest expression.

"Please, boss?" McGee added.

"Yeah. We miss the ninja and if she can't come out with us, isn't it fair that we can visit her here?" DiNozzo added.

Gibbs sighed. Abby was bad enough. When the boys added the mix, there was no way that he could deny their request.

"Come on in," he conceded. "We're having supper."

"Great. We brought ribs and chicken wings and popcorn," DiNozzo said, hefting the box he was holding. "Get the door, Probie."

...

Ziva swung around as her three friends tromped into the house.

"We brought dinner," Tony cheered.

"I already made rice," Ziva told him. Her food was surely superior to whatever he bought. She would try it, of course, but she would establish her cooking prowess from the beginning.

"Smells great," Abby said, dashing to the kitchen for another three place settings.

"What are you all doing here?" Jenny asked the new arrivals.

"We heard that you are having a movie night and just had to stop by," Abby announced. She rushed back with the plates and handed one to each of the young men.

"What are we watching, Ziva?" Tony asked.

"I do not know yet," Ziva replied, thrilled to realize that she was being acknowledged as the "chooser."

...

Jenny went to the kitchen to get several more glasses - Abby having forgot them in her wild dash around the room - and Jethro came out to help her. It was an update opportunity.

"So, what made you relent? I am fairly sure that I did not forget you inviting them."

Gibbs lowered his voice. The four younger NCIS workers were talking loudly so it was not really necessary, but it was force of habit.

"Abby called earlier. They were going to the movies and begged for Ziva to be allowed to go with them. I said 'no,' so the three connivers show up tonight knowing that I can't really turn them away once they arrive."

Jenny smiled affectionately. "That is so sweet," she murmured.

"Or disobedient," Gibbs grumbled, although his heart was not in the complaint.

"They ARE staying," Jenny declared, giving him a look that just dared him to disagree with her.

"I already told them that!"

"Wonderful. Then we had better eat before they steal the food off of our plates."

...

"Gibbs said that I could choose the movie!" Ziva argued.

"But I know movies, Ziva, and that one is so boring! This is a better choice."

"I agree with Tony," Abby added helpfully.

"But I get to choose!"

"Ziva, I already told you, that one is so boring!"

"The plot is so simple. You see, it goes like ..."

"Abby, don't ruin it for her!" Tim protested.

"Fine!" Abby grumbled. "But I could explain it so well!"

"You'll ruin it for her."

"But she shouldn't bother ... you, Ziva, shouldn't bother watching it! It is SO boring!"

Ziva was determined, no matter how many people tried to convince her otherwise - namely, Tony and Abby. She turned to Tim, looking for support.

"But Gibbs said that I get to choose and I want that one!" she declared again, specifically to him. She had the most faith that he would let her have her choice. Her faith was proven correct when he nodded.

"Ziva's right. It's fair to let her pick. And as far as I remember, this one isn't really as boring as you guys are saying."

"Tim's right," Abby seconded with a good-natured crinkle of her face. "Tony, put it in - I'm grabbing bowls for the popcorn."

Gibbs and Jenny had been watching the small debate from the kitchen and were pleased to see that Ziva had been able to resolve her differences without violence or anger.

"Are you coming in to watch with us?" Abby asked, brushing past with the retrieved popcorn bowls.

"Of course!" Jenny said brightly. Abby grinned and grabbed Gibbs' hand with her spare one and pulled him to the couch.

"Gibbs, maybe next weekend we could start building my bed?" she asked, still very excited about the upcoming woodworking project.

"Yep. That should work," Gibbs replied, kissing her cheek.

"Yay! Then I'll bring the paint with me."

"Hold on! There's a lot that goes into making the bed before painting it, Abs!"

"But with two of us, it should not take long."

Gibbs just shook his head. She had no idea how long it would take to get it to the level of perfection that he would require. At least it would be a lot of time for the two of them to work together. He had been missing his daily dose of Abby, so he would enjoy it.

"Press play!" Ziva demanded of Tony, who had secured the remote.

"Just hold on a sec, Zi, and I'll adjust the volume and ... here we go!"

...

"What a good movie!"

Ziva looked at Tony speculatively. "You said that it was boring!"

"That was before watching it again. I had forgotten how awesome it was. Thanks, Ziva. Great choice!"

Ziva's eyes lit up with a conniving gleam. "So can I choose again next time?"

"No way! That's my turn!"

It was the answer that Ziva had been expecting but it had been worth a try. As Tim and Abby and Tony argued over who's turn it really would be next time, she leaned back into the couch and looked around. Despite the debate about viewing choices, there were smiles on everyone's faces. They were all squished together in the living room, but the closeness was a blessing rather than something to be endured.

It was almost like she was part of one of those families that she had lost faith in them even existing.

It was like she was part of a loving, happy family.

Saturday movie nights were fun!

...

**I hope that you enjoyed! Have a great weekend! Blessings!**


	29. Chapter 29 - Middle Names and Motives

**Yay! I am finally back with another chapter! I am on March break so there should be some new material now that I actually have time to write and edit it! **

**Thanks so much to those who have patiently waited for me to update. I appreciate each and every one of you, even if I have been bad at responding to individual comments lately! I have not and do not plan on abandoning this story. There is so much more to come and I hope that you will stick around for the rest of it! We are moving into some more intense sections so I think that you will enjoy reading about it - at least I hope so! **

**Thank you to fiftyshadeswritergal who helped edit this chapter. You do such a great job helping me fix up these chapters, finding ways to connect and improve the overall plot line that I would not think of even if I edited the same chapter multiple times. I am so grateful to have you as such an invaluable resource! **

**Now, please enjoy!**

**...**

"Ziva Leigh, come help me with this!" Jenny called from the kitchen. She had just gotten back from a conference that had caused her to be away from the Saturday after the movie night until early that Monday morning.

"That is not my name," Ziva corrected, looking up from her work a little confused. "I do not have a middle name." She went back to cleaning her already-immaculate weapons as she sat on the sofa.

"I know. That's why I'm giving you one," Jenny said lightly as she came over, took the knife from Ziva and replaced it with a carrot peeler. "Middle names can be helpful for getting people's attention when they aren't listening the first time they're asked to do something."

Ziva frowned but nonetheless got up and followed Jenny to the kitchen.

"I do not want carrots, though. Gibbs and I already decided what we were going to order for supper. There is this really good healthy place and ..."

"You wanted to finish trying everything on the menu?" Jenny finished crisply. "Not on my watch, young lady. You and Jethro are NOT going to order Chinese for the third night in a row. Yes, I spotted the receipts on the counter. Eating junk food all the time is bad for you - you know that!"

"Gibbs does it and he is fine," Ziva argued, adding under her breath as she searched for carrots in the fridge, "and he is the active agent, not you!"

SWAT!

"Ouch!" she yelped, jerking around to glare at Jenny while rubbing her bottom despite the swat having been so light that it had not actually hurt in the least. "What was that for?!"

"I can hear you just fine," Jenny remarked with an amused smile. "And I dare say that Jethro is an exception, not a rule."

"She's right," Gibbs said, coming in to the kitchen. "Never refuse to let someone cook for you, Ziver. We can always get take-out tomorrow."

"Jethro!"

"Good!"

Gibbs winked at Ziva and dodged the tea towel that Jenny tossed at him with a half-hearted frown.

"You really need to make sure that the two of you are eating properly, Jethro. I blame you more because you're the one who doesn't have any decent groceries. How can I have been away for three days and you already are out of food?"

"I guess that we ate all the healthy stuff in a salad the day that you left," Gibbs replied jokingly as he refilled his coffee cup.

"Oh...!"

"But the Chinese place is good. It's done traditionally so the food is healthy. It's not all sugar and salt."

"Really?" Jenny asked, interested. "Well, that's better than I had thought."

"Told you so!" Ziva insisted, earning herself a "look" from both parental figures

"Be respectful, Ziva Jennifer," Gibbs said.

"Why are you calling me all these names? Leigh and Jennifer? I am just Ziva David."

Jenny walked past, dropping a kiss on Ziva's head before she opened the fridge and took out the steaks that Gibbs had been defrosting for tomorrow's lunch.

"People give special names to those they love - and we love you."

Ziva did not know how to directly respond to that - far too sentimental according to her tastes. She focused on another aspect. "But why Leigh and Jennifer?"

"You were acting like Jethro - ignoring me - and that is a rather difficult name to feminize, so I took 'Leigh' from 'Leroy'," Jenny explained with a special smile for Ziva and a teasing one for Gibbs.

"Actually, you're much more like Jen than me, so that's why I changed it to 'Jennifer'," Gibbs explained, returning the look to Jenny. He patted Ziva's shoulder as he stepped past to take the package of meat. "I'll take care of preparing that."

Ziva was finding this discussion interesting. Although she had grown to resent being compared to Eli over the last year as distance had revealed his imperfections all the more starkly as she had compared him to her strict but loving and supportive leadership figures at NCIS, she did not mind this little debate of whether she was more like Gibbs or Jenny. In fact, she liked it.

"Jethro! She's just like you!"

"She is most definitely not! And if it was true, that'd be an insult, not a compliment."

"I mean that she has all your good traits," Jenny argued.

"Well, I still think that she is more like you than me. She has your temper ..."

"...Something that you share in common with us as well," Jenny interrupted.

"...And she has spunk and determination and a strong mind about what she will and won't do."

"Are you trying to call me stubborn in a way that won't offend me?" Jenny asked teasingly.

"Yep."

Jenny burst into laughter. "Well, I'm flattered." She turned to Ziva who had finished rinsing the carrots under the faucet before peeling them. "How did you day, Ziva? What have you been up to while I was gone?"

"Well," Ziva pondered, thinking over anything eventful. She smiled as she remembered something. "I am a little less grounded!"

"Lovely! So you got some privileges back?"

"Gibbs finally let me get my weapons back and I can go outside as long as I stay on his property." Ziva made a face. It still felt too restrictive, although it was basically back to what it had been before she was grounded.

"Hey, if you don't like it, I can always change it back to you having to stay inside unless I'm with you," Gibbs said warningly.

"No. I am grateful," Ziva amended quickly. "And you said that if I continue to behave that I can get the darts back tomorrow evening."

"Yes, I did say that."

"Then we could have a competition tomorrow night?" she offered.

"Sounds good."

Ziva smiled. If Gibbs was looking forward to it too, then her chances of getting the darts back were very high indeed. She was not really minding the grounding quite as much anymore that her attitude was better. She understood why Gibbs had done it, even if she not like being grounded. Jenny's puzzle book had helped reduce boredom. The movie night had been a boost to her spirits, as well as being out in the sunshine earlier and spending some calming time reflecting as she cleaned her weapons. She was feeling so much better about life.

And with Gibbs and Jenny both busy teasing each other and preparing supper, then maybe she could sneak off and finish cleaning that knife. She was halfway to the sofa before ...

"Ziva Jennifer Leigh!" Gibbs and Jenny chorused. She turned around guiltily.

"At least we can compromise," Gibbs said as an aside to Jenny, who just rolled her eyes to the ceiling before transferring all of her attention to Ziva.

"Back to peeling those carrots," Jenny scolded lightly. Gibbs just shook his head with amusement.

"Nice try, kid. Nice try."

Ziva smiled away her embarrassment and returned to peeling her carrots. The small SWAT! from Gibbs as she passed him was not entirely unexpected.

"You must both be in such a good mood - creating two middle names to scold me with and giving me swats for everything!" she dramatized.

"Is it better than having your grounding extended?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes!" she yelped as the smile faded from her face. "Wait - you would not do that to me, would you?"

"Maybe," Gibbs said. "Oh, you nicked yourself with the peeler. Are you okay?"

"Yes," Ziva said, sucking at the small blood spot. "I am fine."

"Go put a band aid on that. It looks like you are getting out of peeling carrots after all," Jenny said, pushing Ziva gently in the direction of the stairs.

"There are band aids in the bathroom cupboard," Gibbs directed. Even if he and Ziva did not think that the tiny scratch was deserving of first aid - evidenced by Ziva in how she was rolling her eyes behind Jenny's back - they could humour Jenny. "I'll take over the carrots," he told her. Ziva's eyes twinkled at that information and she dashed off, happy to be rid of an undesired chore.

"You wouldn't really extend her grounding, would you?" Jenny queried as soon as Ziva was upstairs.

"No!" Gibbs chuckled. "The second Ducky says that she's free, her grounding is over! Not going to punish myself too!"

"Not going as smoothly as you thought it would?"

Gibbs responded reflectively, "In this case it was necessary. I think that the loss of freedom was important for her to come to terms with. But I think that I'd be more careful about doing it next time. It was her first time so maybe she'd settle easier if I have to do it again, but restricting what she can do is hard on her. Abby's a social butterfly but can amuse herself when needed. She modifies, creates new things to distract her. Same with the boys on the handful of occasions I've needed to do it with them. Ziva ... well, you're right that she's like me in this sense - we both need a task to work at while upset over something. When I took away her active amusements and the only thing that she was really doing was chores, I didn't really provide an outlet for those emotions and that doesn't seem to have worked out the greatest for either of us. She just ended up trying to push me and there were times that I was close to cracking and dealing with her in a way that would not have been good or helpful to modifying her behaviour."

"That sounds about right," Jenny said, remembering multiple times when she had been frustrated by Ziva acting out over the years. "She is an expert at pushing buttons!"

"I guess that I'd give her a few restrictions but perhaps a project that she had to work on or complete to end her discipline session next time. Also, she seems to learn from spankings. She doesn't just up and forget them in twenty seconds - which I could swear Abby does sometimes! I don't know. I just think maybe I'd do it different with Ziva in the future."

Jenny nodded thoughtfully. "I would agree that it was necessary in this context due to her injuring herself and needing to be reminded that if she won't take care of herself than others will and she probably won't like it. I think that she had already felt restricted, however, so grounding on top of that might not have been ideal. I think that maybe one or two restrictions for a short time period combined with a spanking or a few spankings would be more effective and less stressful to everyone."

"Agreed."

"And I think you're right - spankings go deep with Ziva. She does learn from them and I think that the reminder that she isn't quite beyond correction and also love is important."

"Parenting's hard, isn't it?" Gibbs commented. "Especially anything involving discipline. I don't want to screw up her life anymore than it's already been."

"I think she knows that we're trying our best," Jenny said gently.

"Not that she'd ever want to admit it!"

...

Up in the bathroom Ziva was unaware of the discussion about discipline methods to be used on her. She rinsed off her finger and applied the band aid. She had considered ignoring those directions from Jenny - after all, she did NOT need a band aid! - but she remembered the last time that she had ignored medical advice rather clearly.

"I am not going to do that again," she murmured to herself as she hurriedly added the sticky tab to her finger. Then, not quite ready to return to peeling carrots, she strayed to her room and walked over to the window to look outside as the sun was setting. She was rather busy thinking.

_Ziva Jennifer Leigh._

_Ziva Jennifer Leigh._

_I like it._

Suddenly, just as she was about to listen to her present as her truth, the echoes came crashing in on her once again. There were voices that would only ever acknowledge her as Ziva David - _the director of Mossad's daughter, spy, handler, assassin, unstable asset. _They denied her the positions of _agent, cherished friend, beloved daughter figure. _She would never be Ziva Jennifer Leigh to them.

_But ... _

_Face it, Ziva - you are becoming soft. You are not being the strong person that you are supposed to be. And these people will not be here forever. You do not need to be loved - you need to be strong! After all, they have not seen the worst of you. You need to stop being so content with life and see the facts - they only love you for who they think that you are. They do not love the real you._

_And it is about time that they meet her before this gets harder._

**...**

**So, get ready to meet a Ziva trying to prove herself as unworthy of love. The next few chapter will be filled with one very confused ninja trying to push her new family away - there will be quite a few spanking scenes, so I am putting a warning here for those who like to skip those sections. **


	30. Chapter 30 - Disobeying and Consequences

**Hi! I promised that I would post again soon - and I did! **

**Spanking warning for this chapter. **

**Thanks to all the reviewers - Rocketgirllily, Fashionista-girl, DS2010, fiftyshadeswritergal, Troubled-Angel-26, Guest, Rhi, S, Ludy, Fan, KrisShannon, Guest, Guest, and JessicaRae95. I am glad to hear from all of you. This is one of my favourite stories and I am so glad that so many other people seem to be enjoying it as well. **

**Now, please enjoy! **

**...**

"Ziva, you have been wanting - begging! - Duck to check you for the last few days. It's Tuesday now. C'mon. We'll be late if we don't leave right now."

"I do not want to go to his house!" Ziva protested loudly. "I do not want to see Jackie! I feel perfectly fine now and I do not ever want to see either of them again."

Gibbs sighed before walking over and trying to take her hand. "Come, Zi. You know that you are overreacting. If you want to be able to get ungrounded - or eventually back to work - then you need to keep these appointments. Now I'm not telling you again - it is time to leave."

Ziva jerked away from his hold.

"I do not care! I do not want to go! I can just go back to Israel. I worked all the time there, even when I was sick! And they never made me go to a therapist. This is crazy! I do not want to be here!"

...

_What is going on with her?!_ Gibbs wondered as Ziva seemed to switch from the previous day's good behaviour to a defiant young lady with whom there could be no reasoning.

"Ziva!" he remonstrated. "Stop this! You have been doing so well. Don't ruin it now."

"I am not!" she insisted with a rather juvenile stamp of her foot as a sign of protest. "I just do not see why I must go to Ducky's house. I am fine!"

"Zi," he sighed, putting his arm around her and firmly escorting her to the door. "Time to go, sweetheart."

"I am NOT a sweetheart!" Ziva protested, pulling away. "AND I am NOT going!"

Gibbs clenched his teeth. "Yes, Ziva Jennifer Leigh, you are."

"It is a stupid name!" Ziva protested.

"You know it isn't." He would not have called her it if he had not seen her smile of approval the previous night. And that was not the issue being discussed. She was using it as a way to distract him from getting her out the door. It was not going to work. "Ziva, get out to the car, now!"

"No!"

...

_I will not give in to him. I will not. I will not! I do not want to go to Ducky's. I do not want to talk to Jackie. I do not want to discuss it with Jenny and I do not want to listen to Gibbs! I will not go out!_

...

Gibbs took a deep breath.

"Ziva, you do not want to push me."

...

_Like you know what I want!_

"What if I do?" Ziva snapped back with a smirk.

...

Gibbs gave her a glare, watching as her smirk wavered and her head dropped down in defeat.

"Then you'll be going to Duck's with a sore backside."

The ultimatum was delivered - whether or not she would listen and avoid consequences was up to her. But his patience was gone and if she pushed even a little ...

...

"That will not stop me!" Ziva snorted with laughter.

_Maybe it should but I cannot stop. I need to keep pushing. I will prove that they will not love me if they see the worst of me._

...

"This is your last chance. Go to the car now."

_Ziva, please do this. I do not want to start our day with having to discipline you. Not when we finally reached a point when we were finally beginning to connect._

...

"NO!"

_And that should do it._

It certainly did. Gibbs' face was grim as he took Ziva's arm and led her to the couch.

"Okay, if that's how you want to do it. Come here. Tell me why you're getting a spanking."

Ziva tried to pull her wrist away from him but it did not work.

"Tell me, Ziva."

_I did not want to end up getting a spanking! This is not going according to plan!_

...

_She wasn't expecting this_, Gibbs mused as he took her hand and firmly pulled her down across his lap. She resisted but he persisted and she ended up bent over, waiting for her spanking.

...

Ziva blinked hard as she found herself bent over Gibbs' knee - quickly becoming her least favourite place in the universe.

"I do not want a spanking!" she protested, kicking a little.

"I know," Gibbs said calmly. "But you did not want to go to the car either. This was the only other option so apparently you preferred this to being obedient. Now let's get this over with. Why are you getting a spanking, young lady?"

"You ... you did not say that I would get a spanking for not going to Ducky's house!" Ziva protested.

"Nice try. I gave you a choice and you made a decision. I know that you don't like these consequences, but you have to take them to learn your lesson. Now, tell me why you're getting a spanking or I'll give you a few swats to remind you."

Ziva did not like the sound of that. She hung her head and quickly grumbled, "Because I would not listen and leave."

"Yes," Gibbs confirmed as if the accompanying SPANK! was not an answer on its own.

SPANK!

SPANK!

SPANK!

"Stop!' Ziva protested. A surge of defiance went through her and she kicked and squirmed against Gibbs' hold. "I have a right to say that I do not want to go. You should not make me! Now let go of ..."

SPANK!

"Ouch! Let go of me or I will ..."

SPANK!

"I hate you!"

SPANK!

...

Gibbs was not enjoying the spanking any more than Ziva. He had promised a spanking if she did not change her behaviour and so he could not back out of it, but he planned on giving her a lightly warmed bottom as fast as possible so that they could deal with the issue and then get to Ducky's within a decent time frame - hopefully without there being little more than slightly bruised feelings on Ziva's end. But it was difficult to spank a squirmy, shouting Ziva without concern over her safety. He paused to tighten his hold on her and scold.

"Stay still, young lady. If you keep acting up, I will give you the rest of your spanking on your underwear."

His stern tone seemed to make her pause for a second and he swiftly administered two hard spanks on her sit spots.

SPANK! SPANK!

He was not expecting the language that she shot at him as those spanks began to sting.

"Apologize for saying that," he growled, fighting to maintain his cool and somehow managing it.

"I will NOT!" Ziva gasped defiantly.

That was NOT a wise decision.

She felt herself be tipped back up to her feet and found herself looking at an obviously displeased Gibbs.

"So, we are done?" she asked with a surge of false bravado as she battled back the tears and confusion at the discipline. "I am ready to go now."

"Now it is my turn to say 'no'," Gibbs said firmly. He took her hands and looked her in the eye. "You have been disobedient. You are getting spanked. You are supposed to be learning from this, not adding being disrespectful to your misbehaviour. Now, undo your pants. You're going to get the rest of your spanking on your underwear."

"No!" Ziva repeated, but this time it was more of a tone of protest rather than defiance.

Gibbs was not deterred. He pulled her forward and began to unbutton her pants, gently pushing her hands away when she tried to push him away. "This'll be fast, Ziver. I'm just going to undo them, then you'll bend over and I'll pull them down just enough to spank you. That's done. Come on, bend over."

...

Ziva's heart seemed to sink to her feet as Gibbs undid her pants and pulled her back over his knee, her fight temporarily paralyzed. She felt her face flush with embarrassment as she processed that Gibbs was tugging her pants downward.

"Please! I promise that I will not fight any more and take my spanking quietly," she bartered, grabbing at the waistband and trying to keep them from migrating south. This was just far to embarrassing!

"Thank you, Ziva. Now please move your hands. I told you that you would be getting the rest of this spanking on your underwear and that's how it is going to finish."

His tone was calm yet carried a great deal of determination and warning. Ziva, anxious about what his next action would be if she did not move her hands, moved them reluctantly and flushed bright red as he gently lowered them to right below her bottom. She was grateful that he was at least letting her keep them mostly up for her modesty's sake but she was under no illusions that this was going to hurt far more. Jenny's spankings on her bare bottom were about equal to how Gibbs had spanked her over her pants. She dreaded learning how a Gibbs spanking was going to feel without that layer of protection. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, deeply regretting her decision to shout insults at Gibbs while he already had her over his knee.

"Why did I have to take down your pants for this part of your spanking?" Gibbs asked, tightening his hold on her once again. She could tell that his hand was raised above her bottom, ready to continue its mission of discipline.

"Because I was being disrespectful," Ziva squeaked.

"Yes."

SPANK!

"Ow!" Ziva yelped before her face flushed as pink as her bottom. Yes, there was a significant difference in how much that stung! Her panties were nowhere near thick enough to absorb the sharp smacks.

SPANK!

SPANK!

SPANK!

She had most definitely experienced worse pain, but this was different in that she knew that it was not for the sake of giving her pain or to get revenge on her for being bad. This was meant to be a lesson - she was just regretting having pushed Gibbs to have made it be taught in such a manner.

"Is it worth being disobedient?"

"No!" she gasped, blinking hard.

SPANK!

SPANK!

_I wish that I had just gone to get in the car the first time he asked me!_

She squirmed as much as she could while being held firmly by Gibbs. Embarrassment over being spanked on her underwear was forgotten in her desire for it just all to be over.

...

Gibbs could tell that Ziva was processing her spanking much more now that it was on her underwear. He was not sure if it was the extra sting or the embarrassment that had gotten her attention, but at least it was working. He did not enjoy having to give her a harsher spanking but her behaviour had left him little choice. He did not want her to think back on her spanking as "worth it" when compared to her actions.

SPANK!

From her reactions, he doubted that she was going to be thinking that when they finished.

Which was going to happen once he was certain that she had learned her lesson.

"Are you going to try to be more obedient and respectful now?" he asked, pausing the spanking to give her a chance to answer.

_Please, answer correctly, Ziver! I don't want to continue this for a spank longer than it has to!_

"I will! I ... I promise!" she sniffled.

_She's still not crying - refusing to. But tears aren't necessary as long as she's learned her lesson. And I'm pretty sure that she has._

"Three more," he said. _Both sit spots and the middle of her bottom._

SPANK!

SPANK!

SPANK!

_It's over! Thank God, it's over!_

...

Ziva kicked involuntarily during the last three spanks. Her bottom felt well-punished.

_Sitting on coals would be preferable to this!_ she thought as she gasped. She did not cry, but she was still having a hard time processing the sting.

"I ... will li ... listen," she said softly as she struggled to catch her breath, desperate to assure Gibbs that she did not need any more spanks.

"I know," he responded soothingly. She struggled to stand up and felt his hand on her back, holding her down for a moment. "Just catch your breath," he instructed. "I'm going to pull your pants back up and that's going to hurt a bit. Are you okay if I do it now?"

"Yes," she responded. Her bottom was already hurting but at least her dignity might feel a little better if he would pull them back up and ... "OW!"

Maybe not. Having her pants replaced HURT!

...

Gibbs smiled sadly as he felt Ziva react to the feeling of her pants pulled back over her sore bottom. Yes, that lesson had been thoroughly completed.

"Good girl," he said softly, rubbing her back, trying to make up for some of the hurt that he had just been forced to impart. It had been necessary but he hated seeing how much it affected her.

They stayed there for a minute before Ziva pushed herself back to her feet. Gibbs let her, although he took her hand once she was standing. He did not want her rush off - she needed to learn that discipline was followed by comfort.

"You okay?" he asked softly as she shifted and sniffled in front of him while simultaneously trying to stay as strong as she could.

...

_My bottom hurts SO much! I do not want to cry, I do not want to cry, I do not want to cry. _

She shifted back and forth as she stood in front of him, feeling much more like a sad young child rather than an angry young lady.

She felt alone as she tried to hug herself in self-comfort.

...

"You okay?" Gibbs repeated calmly, touching her shoulder softly.

"Yes," she answered weakly, but Gibbs was not convinced. He stood up and gently pulled her into a hug. She resisted for the first five seconds but he just held her until she relaxed in his arms. It was barely perceptible but he could feel the difference. He held her, waiting until she would choose to end the embrace.

...

Ziva had found it difficult to relax at first, but after a few seconds Gibbs holding her firmly in a hug, she had relaxed. As much as she wanted to deny it, she realized that she not longer felt quite as lonely, naughty, little, or sad. It was ... comforting to be held, even if it happened to be by the person who had just scorched her bottom. She eventually pulled away because she felt that she needed too, but she did so reluctantly. She sniffled and stepped away, blinking hard to clear her eyes.

"You feeling ready to move on?" Gibbs asked. He did not want to push her but if she was ready, then he was ready too.

"Yes," she repeated. She wanted to put this behind her, even though she was unsure she was "ready" yet. The idea of moving was not very attractive.

"Good - then I'm going to call Ducky and tell him that we will be a little late."

"Wait - we still have to go?"

_I CANNOT go in the car when my butt hurts this much! _

Gibbs gave the horrified young lady a kiss on the top of her head. "Yep. The drive should give you some reflection time."

Ziva opened her mouth to protest. After all, the whole point of her earlier misbehaviour was to push Gibbs - and eventually Jenny - into seeing that she was not an agreeable little girl who was going to submit to their plans and rules without a fight. But she closed her mouth as she realized that her pushing had resulted in nothing besides a sore bottom - an experience that she was not willing to risk again so soon. She turned toward the door.

"Yes, sir," she sighted softly as she grabbed a sweater from the hook and went out to the car, wincing at the mere thought of sitting for the drive. Yet that still held more appeal than ending up back over Gibbs' lap. She had a sinking feeling that he would give her a much firmer spanking during a second round. It was not worth the risk.

...

"Duck? We're going to be a little late."

"Oh. Is traffic bad?"

"No. Just the behaviour of a certain someone."

"Oh dear!"

"We had a few disciplinary issues to work out but we're coming now. Just wanted to let you know so that if Jackie has to leave then she can feel free to do so. I just do need to take Ziva to your house whether or not she can have her session or check-up because that was what she was fighting over this morning. Not going to let her think that she just gets disciplined and still doesn't not have to do what she refused to do in the first place."

"I suppose so," Ducky said reluctantly. Gibbs smiled on the other end of the call, picturing the concern on the ME's face.

"She survived. And you'll get to see her in half an hour and can see that for yourself. Don't worry, Ducky. She's fine. She'll be squirming on the ride but I think that her behaviour will be a little better."

"I will give her as many caramels as she would like," Ducky decided.

"She doesn't need a reward!" Gibbs argued as he locked the door behind him and headed out to the car.

"But as a doctor, I can provide some comfort," Ducky insisted..

Gibbs watched Ziva shifting in the front seat of the car for a few seconds before replying, "That might actually be a good idea. See you soon, Duck."

"We will be waiting for you, Jethro. Have patience with her in the meantime."

Gibbs smiled and snapped the phone closed before getting in the car.

"Ducky and Jackie are waiting. Let's go."

Ziva sighed and nodded reluctantly. She winced and squirmed but stayed obedient and respectful.

_No need to make him think that I didn't learn my lesson!_

...

**I hope that you enjoyed! What other ways do you see Ziva acting out in the future? **


	31. Chapter 31 - Continuation of a Bad Day

**I appreciate all the comments from everyone. I am guessing that some of you may have more reading time on your hands. I am still studying although my courses have been switched to online, but I will try to write and post regularly. Just understand that it is not all that I am doing! **

**Thanks to all the reviewers on the last chapter - Troubled-Angel-26 (she is slowly learning that!), Ludy (I don't think that she is in a listening mood just yet, but hopefully she'll get to that point!), DS2010 (I think that she is rather grumpy with that realization), Loads of Randomness (a version of that happening will occur in about five or six chapters), didodado (that will happen soon), S (ha ha! I think that will happen in the next chapter - several people have backed up my original plan that Jenny needs to have some time dealing with Ziva), KrisShannon (here you go!), Guest (that is definitely happening in the next chapter), and a second Guest (thank you! I definitely will continue!). Sorry that I have not been the most communicative lately - I'm out of the habit but need to be better about it again. I definitely enjoy hearing from you. It is what sets fanfiction apart as such a fun writing style. You leave me feeling motivated to continue! **

**Now, shall we see how Ziva does at Ducky's? **

**Enjoy! **

**...**

Ziva stormed out of the therapy session, her face just as flushed as it had been after her earlier spanking - but this time it was clear that she was angry rather than embarrassed.

"Ziver?" Gibbs asked as she angrily brushed past. "Zi!"

"Ziva, I still need to check your side," Ducky protested as she grabbed her sweater off of a hook by the door and ran outside, slamming the door loudly behind her. Apparently even getting un-grounded was less important than getting away as fast as possible.

"We hit on a sensitive subject today," Jackie explained, coming out to talk to the two men.

"She going to be okay?"

"Yes. Eventually," Jackie sighed before recovering and smiling. "Gibbs, you may want to make sure to keep an eye on how she reacts to things this week. I will see her in two days anyway, but in the meantime make sure that she feels supported and loved, especially if she experiences any triggering."

"Are you able to say what triggers in particular?" Gibbs asked.

Jackie hesitated. "I am going to say no. I will discuss it with you on Thursday if I believe that it is needed and if Ziva wants me to explain it instead of her, but I would love for you to try to talk to Ziva yourself first. As difficult as it is for her, she needs to discuss her triggers with those close to her so that they can help her manage them. If she does not take steps forward in that way soon, then I will discuss with her about doing joint sessions with you and maybe Jenny to help facilitate the building of your relationships. For the next few days, just try to give her as much support as possible."

"Good. I'll try."

"Wonderful," Jackie said brightly. "As she has already left, please tell her that I will see her on Thursday."

"Oh, she'll be happy to hear that," Gibbs said, sarcasm heavily implied. He shook Jackie's hand. "Thank you for all the work that you are doing with Ziva. I am seeing small changes every now and then."

Jackie nodded. "That's how therapy works - a tiny bit at a time. I have to go to my next appointment but I will see you on Thursday. Have a wonderful rest of the day."

"Thank you, Jackie. Good bye," Ducky said, helping her put on her jacket and letting her out the door before turning back to Gibbs. "Now, shall I wait or go looking for our missing Ziva?"

"Give her some time. She does not like being grounded. She's been begging me to get you to check her earlier. She'll be back for sure."

...

Ziva eyed the tree hopefully, but once again the branches were up to high and she would risk re-tearing her wound if she climbed it. She turned and stomped away, kicking at rocks and snapping off any branches that got in her way. The physical aggression allowed her inner turmoil to escape.

_Why did she have to be so nosy?! _

She circled the house for a sixth time, glancing at it through the trees. No one had come looking for her yet - she had seen Jackie leave and would have seen Gibbs or Ducky come out_ \- _so she she continued to walk, attempting to drown out the voices in her heart.

_It is good that they are leaving me alone! I do not want to talk to anyone else! If they mention my father too, then I will explode! _

_Why does everyone insist on discussing my emotions? As a child I was told it was wrong to focus on those thoughts and fears - and now I am being told that is is "healthy" and "beneficial"?! I wish that they would all leave me alone! _

_But where are they? Do they not care that I am not there? Ducky is supposed to check me today. Is he not worried that I will get hurt? And Gibbs said that I am not allowed to go for walks by myself while I am grounded. Why does he not care that I am not listening? Maybe they do not care. _

...

Gibbs finally stood and went to the door.

"It's been half an hour. I'm going to go check that she's okay."

_A bad therapy session on top of a spanking - her day is just not going well. _

"I will prepare a pot of tea for when you bring her back," Ducky said, confident in his friend's powers of persuasion in retrieving disappearing young adults. He had seen it work before on both willing and unwilling members of his team. Ziva would be no exception. "Tell her I have doughnuts!" he called cheerily after Gibbs as he left the house.

Gibbs could not help smiling as he closed the door behind him.

_Ducky loves that kid. _

He walked out and looked around to see if he could locate Ziva's location. It only took about fifteen seconds for him to see movement on the perimeter of the woods surrounding the property.

_Ziva. _

He began walking in that direction and the movement stopped. He finally got to the edge and made his way over to Ziva who was standing there with her arms folded tightly across her midsection.

"Hey, Ziver," he said easily.

She did not answer, just stood there shivering in the cold. Gibbs walked closer. "Want to talk?"

"No! Leave me alone!" Ziva snapped, stepping backward as he approached.

Gibbs took several more steps before stopping and then holding his hands out to her.

"C'mon, Ziver. It's cold out here. At least come back in with me."

"No. I am not cold," she insisted, taking yet another step backward.

Gibbs bit back his impatience and waited with her. He knew that he could outlast her stubbornness.

...

Ziva shivered as another cold breeze went through the woods.

_Just go away! _she thought as Gibbs comfortably leaned against a tree and smiled at her.

_Why is he always so certain that he is right?! Why can he not listen to me for once? Why can he not just leave me alone? _

_This is such a cold day. _

"Ducky is making some tea. He has doughnuts for you as well."

_I _am _hungry ... _

"It's a lot warmer in there."

_And I am cold ... _

_But ... _

"No!"

...

Gibbs had to admire her tenacity. Something had worked her up so much that she did not want to go back in, no matter how cold and hungry and sore she was. And as frustrating it was to not be able to automatically fix the problem right away, he knew that showing any negative emotion in front of Ziva would be counterproductive. Instead, he unzipped his jacket and moved to drape it around Ziva's shoulders.

...

Ziva pulled away when Gibbs started toward her with his jacket, but relaxed a little as he wrapped it snugly around her shoulders before taking a few steps back again to let her have her personal space.

"Thank you," she muttered reluctantly, appreciate of the gesture, especially as she knew how cold he would be without it.

"Want to talk?" he repeated.

"No! I already said, no."

"Okay. Then let's go inside and visit with Duck. I want one of those doughnuts to go with my coffee. And I think that he might have some more of those caramels that you enjoyed earlier."

Ziva seemed to relax for a moment and Gibbs took the chance to put his arm around her shoulder and begin leading her to the house.

"C'mon, Ziver."

She hesitated but ultimately followed him.

"We're not going anywhere on you," Gibbs reminded her quietly, patting her back.

Ziva did not verbally agree, but neither did she argue. She just settled on ...

"What kind of doughnuts?"

**...**

**There will likely be spanking in the next chapter. Just so that you are forewarned if you like to skip those chapters. **

**Thanks for reading this chapter! **


	32. Chapter 32 - The Dart Debate

**Hello! I'm baaaaacck! **

**There will not be any spanking in this chapter, just discussion of it. There will likely be spanking in the next one, but this little bit - which I thought was a going to take up 200-400 words ended up blossoming into a full chapter. And then with fiftyshadeswritergal's editing suggestions (be thankful for her! this story gained nearly another 900-1,000 words due to her offered ideas) it turned into a full BIG chapter! **

**Thanks to all the readers! And special thanks to each reviewers - Troubled-Angel-26, Rocketgirllily, Loads of Randomness, Fashionista-girl, DS2010, Ludy, Fan, S, Sarai, fiftyshadeswritergal (on both recent chapters), Fan of Ziva (I update about once a week, so if you check the date of the last post it should give an idea of when I'll next be trying to update; I love your name by the way), and Rhi. **

**Hugs!  
**

**...**

Ziva's temperamental upset calmed in response to Ducky's gentle nurturing. He did not push her about her session and Gibbs followed the doctor's lead. Doughnuts, tea, and caramels seemed to sweeten her disposition - and Ducky's announcement that she would likely be good to have her freedom back come Thursday made her genuinely smile. She squirmed a little on her chair and did not mention Jackie once, but Gibbs viewed it as an upward turn in the day.

In fact, everything went surprisingly well until that evening.

"When can we play darts?" Ziva asked as she helped him find choose the items that they wanted to order from the Chinese restaurant. Gibbs internally sighed at the question.

_Here we go again._

"Tomorrow," he replied calmly.

Ziva's response did not borrow from his peace with the situation.

"But you said that I could use them tonight!" she protested loudly, going into minor explosion. "You promised that I could use them tonight! And now you are breaking your promise! You are no better than him!" She seemed surprised that she had shouted the last phrase angrily at Gibbs, and her startled pause gave Gibbs a chance to answer.

"Ziva, I did not _promise._ I had decided that you could _earn_ that privilege back today - but unfortunately you did not earn it."

"I went to my session and I let Ducky check me! What else do you want?!" Ziva snapped.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "A little respect - like what you refused to give me this morning." It was just a statement, not meant to shame or upset her. And it may have carried just a _little_ reminder to remain respectful even though she was upset.

But Ziva seemed to nearly growl at the reminder.

"But I did everything else for the rest of the day!" she protested, her voice getting louder.

"I know. But the answer is still 'no'."

There was a knock on the door just in time to save Gibbs from having to reply.

"That's Jen. Go ahead and let her in."

Ziva shot him one baleful look before hurrying to the door and flinging it open.

"Hello, Zi..."

"He broke his promise!" Ziva announced flatly. "He broke the promise he made last night! I was supposed to be able to use the darts again and now _he _won't let me!"

At least there was hope that Jenny would fix things and make the not-so-good-day end okay.

"What promise?" Jenny asked with concern in her tone, glancing from Ziva to ... Gibbs.

"You are already on his side!" Ziva accused.

"Now hold on. I just got here twenty seconds ago. I am on no one's 'side' and I have no desire to be. Let me take off my coat and then we'll discuss it, all right?" Jenny said, moving into the house. "Hello, Jethro."

"Hello, Jen," Gibbs replied with a wry smile.

"Now, Ziva," Jenny said, _finally _turning back to the annoyed girl. "What is it that has you so upset?"

"He will not let me use the darts!"

"Oh - and why is that?"

"Because he broke his promise!"

Despite having just arrived in the battle zone, Jenny was not unprepared. Nor was she gullible.

"I have a feeling that there is a different reason for not letting you have the darts. Can you think of any - perhaps something to do with any earlier misbehaviour?" she asked, causing Ziva to flush a little at the perceptive question. She scowled and crossed her arms.

"You are just on his side!" she repeated rather than answer the question. Jenny was not going to settle with that.

"Jethro?"

"She didn't want to listen earlier - got an attitude - and so she got a spanking this morning. That does not count as behaving in my book."

Jenny turned to Ziva with a raised eyebrow. "It sounds like you left out a bit of the story there, sweetie."

"I should still get to use the darts because I did everything else right!" Ziva protested with her head tucked down against her chest.

Jenny shook her head firmly. "I am sure that it will be a good motivation for you to earn them back for ... tomorrow," she said, exchanging a look with Gibbs.

Ziva began to mutter under her breath and got a sharp "Watch it!" from Jenny.

"I was not saying anything!" Ziva protested as both Gibbs and Jenny frowned disapprovingly at her. "I was not!"

"Ziva, that attitude you're getting now is not going to do you any favours. Please go sit on the sofa and calm yourself down. We will be in the kitchen."

Ziva looked ready to shout but one glance at Gibbs let her know that he would back up Jenny. And her bottom was still sending unpleasant tingles every so often. No, one spanking a day was enough. But still ...

It was a bad day again!

"It is not fair," she protested feebly, sitting down on the sofa. The soft cushions provided a comfortable place to sit - something that was seriously lacking elsewhere in the Gibbs house. Why did all the chairs have to be made of such hard wood?!

Instead of going to the kitchen, Jenny came and took a seat next to her and looked her in the eyes. "No, it _is_ fair," she corrected firmly but kindly. "I think what you mean is that it isn't fun or nice - even that it might not _feel_ fair. But we both know that it _is_ fair."

Ziva glared at her but Jenny kept her gaze firm and not angry. Ziva finally looked away with a little huff.

"I am going to let you cool off now for a bit - and I think that maybe you should try thinking about how you could modify your attitude a little. I came here to have an enjoyable evening with you and Jethro - not to argue. Now is there something special that you want for supper or ...?"

"We were ordering Chinese," Ziva mumbled, looking away to convey her dislike of having to communicate someone who was obviously on Gibbs' side in everything else but food.

Jenny rolled her eyes at the response but relented. "And does he know what you want?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll choose what I want, we'll order, and then we'll come talk to you, okay?"

It was not okay. Everything was bad. She did not reply but Jenny gave her shoulder a squeeze, ignored the lack of response, and left Ziva to her stormy world of thoughts.

Ziva focused her glare on the list of rules on the wall and willed it to spontaneously combust.

No such luck.

It was turning into a bad night too.

...

The food was ordered, a whispered consultation had been held in the kitchen, and the two parent figures were headed back into the living room to talk to Ziva.

"Feeling better now?" Jenny asked soothingly.

"I did not feel badly in the first place so I do not need to feel better!"

Gibbs and Jenny exchanged "a look" and each took a seat in front of the frustrated young lady.

"Good," Jenny said crisply. "Then if you do not want to talk, we will. There's a few things that we need to clarify with you. Jethro?"

"Zi, this morning during your spanking you started yelling and cursing at me," Gibbs said sternly.

"And just a few minutes ago you were swearing in French at me," Jenny added.

Ziva flushed and looked away. That had been moments when she had lost all control over her words - and she hated losing control of herself in any way.

"You already ... punishedmeanditissupposedtobeover," she said in a rush, referencing her earlier "session" with Gibbs. She felt that muttering under her breath in French was fine. Not like it was directed at Jenny anyway - she could have been talking to herself for all they knew!

"What?" Jenny asked, confused by the burst of words.

"Punishments are supposed to end things!" Ziva protested. At least, that was what Gibbs and Jenny kept saying - and to be honest she preferred that way of dealing with things than others that she had experienced. If they kept holding her to rules, she could hold them to their own principles about discipline!

"We know, and that's why we dislike having to bring it up again. However, you need to be given a fair warning," Gibbs said

"About what?" Ziva asked defensively. She _really _disliked being given warnings.

"I know that spankings hurt and that they are hard to take without losing your temper. However, I do not want to hear you using bad language at me or Jen during any other spankings in the future."

"And if you do, we are going to make the rest of the spanking more severe. Including if I am spanking you and you get out of control - like you have the past - then I will be asking Jethro to take over until you calm down again and then I will finish," Jenny added.

"That's right. I will," Gibbs affirmed.

Ziva was horrified! How did a few bad words end up getting her in this situation? They were saying that if she ever said anything bad again during a spanking - which she was bound to do at some point - she was going to be in a lot more trouble. And a certain fact made her blush a little.

"But usually when Jenny ... when you ... spanks me," Ziva blurted out, blushing a few shades brighter, "she ... you ... usually do it with ... without ..."

"You're bottom's bare," Jenny supplied. Ziva ducked her head, feeling all the blood rush to her face.

Gibbs nodded. "Well, if that was the case, I'd spank your bare bottom too. I've given a large number of spankings bare - and those spankings seem to work the best anyway. You'll be getting it bare anyway when I think that is what you need in order to learn your lesson. Whether or not you push and get your first spanking that way due to being disrespectful to Jen is up to you."

Ziva just stared at him with wide eyes, "That is not a fair choice!" she protested.

"Why not?" Jenny queried, attempting to mediate the situation.

"Because I know that I will say something bad at some point while being spanked and it is not fair that I get spanked more for something that I cannot avoid!"

Jenny and Gibbs both smiled wryly. Gibbs answered, "I used to think that too when I was in your position - but it is amazing how much behaviour can be changed when you know the bad consequences. You know the consequences now, so hopefully it will deter you from ever being disrespectful during a spanking. If not, then you'll try again."

"That is very true!" Jenny agreed.

Ziva scowled. It was obvious that she did not agree with Gibbs and Jenny's declaration - but also that she knew that arguing against it was going to get her nowhere - except maybe scolded.

_No thank you! _

...

Jenny's heart seemed to sigh as she saw the confusion and rebellion fighting for dominance on Ziva's face. The girl eventually just focused her attention on her shoes and crossed her arms tightly over her chest, trying to hug herself to provide comfort after the upsetting declaration that there was now yet another way that she could end up in trouble.

_Poor baby._

"We only do this because we love you," she explained, trying to give her a kiss. Ziva yanked away and Jenny slowly pulled back.

_So much for trying to comfort her. She is __far__ too angry for that right now._

"I am going to go upstairs and change into something more comfortable and wash up a little," Jenny explained, going to the door to get her go-bag which she had brought in from the car. The suit that she was wearing made her look powerful and put-together, but it was not exactly comfortable for a night with her makeshift family!

"Whatever," Ziva grumbled.

Jenny held her breath for ten seconds to fight back her original negative response to the remark, then smiled.

"I will be back in just a minute. And if the food gets here before I do, don't eat all my rice!"

There was no response. Jenny shrugged at Gibbs who gave her an encouraging wink.

She would try again later. Ziva could not remain grumpy forever.

At least she hoped not.

She would not let her.

...

As Jenny went upstairs - and he was left without backup - Gibbs realized that he needed to make sure that Ziva was going to be okay with one last detail of their conversation.

"Ziva, are you going to be okay if I spank you bare? Because if it is, I won't do it. I don't want to scare you - just teach you."

...

Ziva suddenly realized something - _if I lie and say that I will be triggered, then he will not do it. He will not spank me bare - and when Jenny spanks me bare it always hurts more than when she spanks me over my underwear. When Gibbs spanked me on my panties today it hurt a lot! It will hurt a lot more if he takes them down. He would never know if I am lying or not. It is believable that I can handle Jenny spanking me bare but could not handle him. _

_Of course, if he realizes that I lied, he would probably spank me really hard for lying! _

_But if he never finds out ... _

...

Gibbs was watching Ziva closely and could see the internal debate playing out across her face. He knew exactly what she was being tempted to do - and that debate could only mean that she did not believe that she was going to be triggered by a bare bottom spanking.

But he did not say a word. This was Ziva's decision. Even if he was certain that she was lying, he would not address it. Ziva needed to learn to trust and sometimes that process was bumpy. And if she needed to have her trust built by him not giving her a spanking bare, then he could always just add a few extra firm spanks over her pants or underwear to make his point.

...

_I do not want to be spanked bare - I hate spankings in the first place! He would never know ... _

_But he is trusting me. And if I lie, then I will be ruining that trust. _

_Although who cares about trust when their bottom is hurting?! _

Ziva suddenly was struck with a realization.

_He is asking. He does not want to scare me. He does not want to hurt me ... well, besides the hurt of a spanking! _

_And if he cares like that, they I do not think that he will spank me longer than I deserve. And if I deserve to have a bare bottom spanking, then it is fair for me to get it even if I do not want it. _

_But it will hurt! _

_But I need to be truthful and trust him. _

...

Gibbs was almost certain that Ziva was going to say that she could not handle a bare bottom spanking from him. The temptation was obviously strong and he knew that if the other three had been given such an easy opportunity to get out having their bare backsides spanked all of them would have immediately lied. Of course, they probably would not have been able to continue lying for long (especially Abby) before being overcome by guilt and then confessing - but what person would give up a chance to legitimately get out of a harder spanking? No one wou...

"I will be fine. Just ... you will do it like earlier? Let me keep my pants and ... everything up until after I bend over?" Ziva said bravely.

Apparently Ziva would.

Gibbs pulled her into a tight hug, overcome by shocking pride in her. "I know that wasn't easy to say," he whispered, "but I am SO proud of you for being truthful, Little One."

...

Ziva squirmed a little in the hug - she was uncomfortable about this whole conversation. But hearing Gibbs say that he was proud of her? That was a little nice. She stopped squirming and relaxed a little. After a long, bad day it was calming to feel that love around her. She rested in his arms and gradually let her body lose some of its rigidness. She _let_ herself be held. She was tired and yawned, blinking sleepily as the warmth of Gibbs' arms enveloped her. She was tired - tired of being upset, tired of being grumpy, tired of being scared and ... emotional. She could see why ... Abby liked ... being cuddled so ... much. It ... was ... relaxing ...

And then there was a knock on the door.

She pulled back with a tired frown, feeling Gibbs' sigh as he helped her sit up on her own again.

"That's our food," he said softly, standing and going to the door. They could hear Jenny finishing up in the bathroom and starting to make her way down. He got out his wallet and withdrew some cash before turning back to Ziva.

"Choose a movie if you want. It's not the same as darts, but it is something that we can do together with Jen while we eat."

He did not dare to add aloud that he doubted that Ziva would even stay awake the whole time, judging based on how she had almost fallen asleep just now. He did not want to make her defensive and then have her force herself to be awake the whole time. The extra rest would be good for her.

On her end, Ziva smiled a little and scrambled to make her choice.

It had been a bad day but it was not ending terribly.

**...**

**I hope that you enjoyed. :) **

**There will likely be spanking in the next chapter, so if you want to skip that you can. No judgment here. :) **

**See you again in a week or so! :D **


	33. Chapter 33 - A Visit to the Office

**Turns out, no spanking in this chapter either (I should stop trying to predict it in the previous chapters since I keep getting it wrong; I post warnings at the front of chapters anyway so just check there if that is something that you avoid). My story line is meandering on me again. :) I don't mind too much and I hope that you won't either. :D **

**Sorry for the wait. My assignments all started coming due and that took up my time and brain cells. I have exams and more assignments due this week and into the beginning of next, but I do hope to be able to have another chapter ready soon. :D **

**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter - Troubled-Angel-26, Queenofwheels, DS2010, Rocketgirllily, Fashionista-girl, xstargirlx123, didodado, A, Ludy, Fan, S, Rhi, Guest, and Misdiagnosed (who has just joined us - welcome!). I hope that you are all taking care of yourselves and staying safe and sane in these difficult times. :) Virtual hugs and encouragement to you all! **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal's excellent editing. One of her notes made me go back and read over the story. I had to make a few edits on chapters 26/27/28 to make the timeline fit together correctly (with it having taken so long to write it was easy to mess up the timeline at that point), but this entire story has only be over the space of two weeks! I've been working on it since June 10th last year and without counting this chapter the current word count (including author's notes) is 68, 820 words - longer than some novels! Originally it was meant to just be over the summer. Now we are at 33 chapters and 373 reviews, nearly two school semesters later and in the middle of a pandemic. And still ... the whole story line fits into a span of two weeks! But I absolutely love this story and we still have a while left to go. **

**So ...**

**Enjoy! **

**...**

Wednesday started well. Yesterday's problems could stay there. Ziva was determined that they were going to play darts and she was trying to prove that she could behave well. She offered to help Gibbs clean the house and he had accepted her offer. She even convinced Gibbs that they needed music on the radio and then ended up dancing around with the broom as she cleaned. Gibbs even laughed as she pirouetted while dusting the book shelves. The idea that she would be un-grounded tomorrow was exciting and her mood was in a good place.

After they finished cleaning and Gibbs had consumed his third cup of coffee, he turned to her with a question.

"I'm going to go in to the office for a bit to check on how everything is going for Tony. Do you want to stay here or go in with me?"

"Go!" Ziva replied instantly and eagerly.

"You won't be working," Gibbs warned her.

"That is fine!"

Working did not matter. Just being out, being back at the office even for a short time, would be wonderful. And now that her body was almost healed maybe it would not be too long until she finally got to go back to her job.

When they got to NCIS she took off on her own. It had been a very looooooooong two weeks to the day that felt more like several months. She could not squelch the feeling that she had missed out on mountains of exciting cases and captivating puzzles. There was so much to catch up on and so many people to visit. She would start at the very bottom and make her way up to Jenny's office.

First stop - autopsy.

"Ziva!" Jimmy exclaimed as she arrived at the door. "You're back!" He hurried over to hug her, then paused to check that he was blood-free before embracing her. She smiled.

"No, she is not back," Ducky announced from where he was elbow-deep in his work. He turned around and frowned thoughtfully before continuing. "Oh - Ziva, dear! What are you doing here?"

"I am just visiting, Ducky," Ziva laughed. "I am sure that Jenny will not let me come back until you say I can."

Ducky smiled sympathetically. "Well, I hope that will be soon but I am glad that you are in for just a visit for today. " He gestured to his desk. "You know where the peppermints are."

Ziva grinned.

"Want one, Jimmy?"

"Sure."

The two snacked on peppermints until Ducky needed Jimmy. Ziva gave him a final hug, confirmed that she would see Ducky the next day, and headed up to her next stop - Abby's lab.

"Ziva!" Abby squealed nearly dropping evidence at her excitement over seeing her friend. "You're back!"

"Just for a visit. At least for now." Ziva did not want Abby to get the wrong idea but she was delighted to feel so wanted.

"Does Gibbs know you're here?" Abby asked suspiciously.

"Yes. I did not run away," Ziva replied, mildly offended.

Abby caught onto Ziva's tone. "Sorry, Ziva. I've just ... well, once upon a time I was _supposed_ to be at Gibbs' house while grounded when I was not at work but then I lied about having a special call in to work and then I came here just to hang out with Tony and Tim who I knew were catching up on paperwork but then Gibbs found out and ... anyway, just I didn't want you to get in trouble."

Ziva relaxed, suddenly understanding the motivation behind Abby's questioning. _Thank you for caring_ was still well outside of her vocabulary but she was still grateful.

"That does not sound like it went well," Ziva commented instead.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't an experience that anyone should have," Abby said, shifting uncomfortably at the memory. Ziva recognized that little shuffle from whenever she thought of Jenny and Gibbs' ... application of ... correction? Discipline? Love? Time to change the line of thought.

"How is your working going today?" Ziva asked, moving forward with a new discussion topic.

"Great. It'll be even better when Gibbs stops by with a Caf-Pow! but even though Tony forgets my drinks sometimes he brings in doughnuts for breakfast at least twice a week. I like the sprinkly ones."

Something in Ziva's stomach tightened as she felt a wave of loneliness despite being right there. She was used to being involved as much as possible and now she was back to being an outsider. Her face drooped a little.

Abby, sensing the change of mood, came up behind her and gave her friend a big hug, being careful of the location of the healing cut. "I'm planning on coming over on Friday night to help Gibbs make my bed. I've pre-ordered a bunch of gourmet cupcakes for then so that we could have a fancy dessert." She tilted her head and smiled at Ziva. "Won't it be great? When we both have beds we'll be able to stay at Gibbs' overnight together! Just we'll have to make sure that it's for fun, not because we're grounded. I've been grounded there with Tim and Tony before but it's much fun. Gibbs makes us do chores and go to bed on time and we don't get to watch movies or do anything really fun. Gibbs can get pretty diabolical. He can make being with three of my favourite people for a few days into the most boring thing in the world. It's just not fair how good he is at it."

"Good at what, Abs?"

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby squealed, turning around and hugging Gibbs tightly. Ziva stepped back to give them some time together. Abby needed some time with Gibbs. They had such an easy, relaxed, special relationship. Ziva had heard many people say that they were a perfect "father/daughter" match.

It was the kind of relationship that could make someone on the outside feel like they were intruding.

It could remind someone of all the times that they had been unimportant and pushed to the side for more important people.

That someone could be reminded of a lot of things and time that they would rather forget.

Someone like Ziva, who edged toward the door as Abby began chattering with Gibbs.

But her retreat was not unseen. Gibbs turned and gave her a smile and a wink. "Make sure to go see Tony next. He has a box of doughnuts and if you're fast maybe you can get one before they're all gone."

"Save me a sprinkly one!" Abby added, her green eyes twinkling at the idea of pastries.

"I will," Ziva promised before hurrying out to locate DiNozzo and his doughnuts.

"Ziva!" Tony and McGee chimed together as she laughed after having triumphantly sneaked over and claimed three doughnuts - including a sprinkly one that she was going to run back to Abby - before they noticed her appearance. It spoke a lot about how happy he was to see her that Tony did not immediately make a fuss at a quarter of his doughnuts having been stolen from his desk. After both young men got a chance to hug their dearly-missed teammate/sister, they caught each other up on all the latest news. Eventually they settled into their desks, snacking on the pastries and drinking coffee together. Ziva had audaciously stolen her beverage by helping herself to half of Gibbs' temporarily abandoned cup on his desk, pouring it into a mug that she kept at her desk.

"He will not know," she explained to the boys. "How could he? He drinks so many cups each day that he cannot possibly remember how much he has left every time."

"Well, it was nice knowing you," Tony said stoically, resigned to her fate.

"Don't you know the rule about not messing with a Marine's coffee?" Tim spluttered.

Ziva, queen of confidence for the moment, shrugged. "He would not want me to choke on my doughnut, would he?" She looked at both of her teammates and her smile quavered. "Would he?"

The ding of the elevator warned them of Gibbs' approach and Ziva suddenly remembered that she still had someone left to visit. That was why she was running up the stairs. The exercise was nice. No other motive. None at all.

Meanwhile, Tim and Tony watched Gibbs carefully. He sat down and took a swig of coffee. His face remained expressionless as he set the cup down and began on the small pile of paperwork that, due to his position as team leader, had still accumulated despite DiNozzo's stellar temporary leadership. Tim and Tony exchanged a look of hope. Ziva was going to get away with ...

"I know what she did," Gibbs said sternly without even looking up at them. "And what did you do to stop her?"

"Warn her not to," Tim immediately responded.

_Traitor! He couldn't have really known and you just told him!_ Tony mouthed at Tim, who shrugged back in irritation.

_I can't lie to him! He knows everything_, Tim silently argued back in his defense.

"Not everything. Just enough to keep you four in line," Gibbs replied calmly.

Tony and Tim looked at each other with eyes nearly double the natural size.

"We won't let it happen again," Tony spluttered.

"No, you won't," Gibbs said menacingly while signing another form. "And neither will Ziva. And next time you make sure that you don't let her take my coffee or I'll be holding you both accountable as well."

"Yes, Boss," the two meekly echoed in sync.

"Good." Gibbs picked up his cell phone and called a number. "Jen? Please tell Ziva ..."

...

"You can go in," Cynthia said. Ziva smiled and entered Jenny's office.

Jenny stood and held out her arms. "Come here, Ziva. I'm so glad that you came by for a visit."

Ziva hurried over and hugged Jenny.

"I hear that you have been causing trouble," Jenny said.

"No!" Ziva protested a little too quickly.

Jenny held up her phone. "Jethro just called."

"Oh," Ziva said softly. "It was just ..."

Jenny smiled and kissed her cheeks. "Good for you! Jethro does not need that much caffeine anyway."

Ziva smiled at the unexpected support.

"But Jethro did leave a message."

"What was it?" Ziva asked, lightly biting the inside of her lip.

"Behave!" Jenny chuckled.

"Was he mad?" Ziva checked nervously.

Jenny smiled. "I think that he was making sure that the others were not going to get any ideas. I would not test him and do it again, but I think that he will leave it at that as long as you do not repeat offend."

"I will not," Ziva assured Jenny. "It was too close of a yell anyway."

"Close of a call?"

Ziva grunted in frustration at the intricacies of English and Jenny smiled before motioning for Ziva to sit down.

"We have not talked much about your counseling sessions, Ziva. I know you've been going for a few weeks and How about we talk about that now?"

Ziva, sensing a command rather than a request, slowly sat down and immediately crossed her arms defensively. All the fun from the visit was gone.

"Why are you wondering?" she mumbled.

"Ducky says that you're almost physically healed to a point where he would be okay with letting you return to work and I know that you have worked when injured much more seriously. That's not what's preventing us from letting you come back to work today. But due to the flashbacks and mental breakdown, I am getting you to take a psych evaluation before you return. And before that, your therapist, Ducky, and I all have to be in agreement that we think you have actually improved and are not just going to try to fake the test."

"I am fine!" Ziva mumbled, unhappy at the fact that Jenny knew her well enough that the regular tricks would not work.

"You had a breakdown after you were injured. That's why we have insisted on taking care of you, Ziva. And for some reason, something inside you did not let you search for help when you were re-opened the cut, leading to infection. I cannot let you go back in the field until I am sure that you are in a place where doing so would not be putting you at risk of having another breakdown or disregarding your health, putting your well-being at risk. And until we talk about it, then I cannot properly gauge ..."

"That is not fair! If I can pass the psych evaluation than I should be able come back. No one else's opinions should matter!" Ziva exploded in protest, standing up despite Jenny's raised eyebrow and motion for her to sit back down in the chair. "I do NOT feel like talking to YOU! Good BYE!"

She rushed out of the office with a little slam of the door.

Jenny remained behind her desk, rubbing her temples. "Sometimes she's a little too much like Jethro." She picked up her phone and made a call to Ducky.

"Dr. Mallard? I agree with your opinion. I think Ziva needs just a little more time as well. ... Yes, she is close. ... Just not yet. And yes, I"ll be having a talk with her soon. We have a few issues to discuss."

**...**

**Oh, I have a feeling that Jenny's not just going to let Ziva keep ignoring this conversation. How do you think that's going to go? **

**Hugs! MM**


	34. Chapter 34 - Freedom

**Hi, everyone! Yay! Another chapter! **

**Before you move on to the story, I'd love to tell you that I am hosting a writing contest at the account titled Quarantine Writing Challenge. It is open to all fandoms and is accepting submissions until May 2! Make sure to go check it out! Even if you have never written a story before, you are welcome to use this as your motivation to start! We also need readers/voters starting on May 4. Please check out that account profile for more details and feel free to message me at that account or this one for more information or to answer any questions! **

**Thanks to all the reviewers on the last chapter (I appreciate you so much!) - Troubled-Angel-26, JessicaRae95, fiftyshadeswritergal (who did some wonderful editing suggestions, as always - thanks!), A, Fan, S (sympathizing on the psych assignments - that's my major), rhiakate, Queenofwheels, DS2010, Ludy, Misdiagnosed, KrisShannon, and Fashionista-girl. **

**Please enjoy! **

**...**

Jenny entered the door to Gibbs' house - she did not even bother knocking at this point - to the sound of a triumphant yell that sounded like it was coming from the backyard.

"Good aim, Ziver!" Gibbs hollered through an open window. in the kitchen.

Jenny smiled to herself, enjoying the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of the situation. Although Ziva might not be his biological offspring or a child that he raised, there was no doubt in Jenny's mind that the bond growing between the two agents rivaled that of the ties between many fathers and daughters - most definitely the one between Ziva and Eli.

"She got the darts back, despite not being in exactly the best mood when in your office today," Gibbs explained without turning from the sink.

_He has some sense that lets him know when another person has joined him in the room ..._

"'Not exactly the best mood' may be a favourable way of stating it," Jenny groused lightly, taking off her heels. "She was grumpy, Jethro. Maybe you've rubbed off a little too much on her."

A teasing grin lit up his face - he really did smile so much more when he was around Jenny. "Well, better me than you. Don't want her trotting around in those foolish shoes while chasing a terrorist."

"I have chased terrorists in heels, thank you very much!"

"I know. I was there. And I seem to remember that you sprained your ankle severely doing that."

"Please also remember that I caught and cuffed him before you showed up."

Gibbs laughed.

"That you did," he conceded.

"I would assume that she had a good day?" Jenny asked, peeking out the window to see Ziva playing darts in the backyard.

"Besides getting a scolding for stealing my coffee and her not wanting to talk to you, yeah."

"That is good," Jenny mused, smiling at Jethro.

"Her behaving or stealing my coffee? She told me that you didn't care about it when I was scolding her."

"Well, both are good. You don't need all that caffeine and you know it."

"I also don't need thieves on my team."

"You steal cups of coffee off of others all the time - yes, I've seen you do it! I don't think that you have much of a leg to stand on in that department."

Gibbs shrugged and winked and Jenny's heart melted a little, like it always did when he did that. She fluttered her eyelashes just the tiniest bit as she smiled back - she knew that would get through to him and make him feel the same emotions in response. It worked.

"Well, are you going to have a talk with her tonight?" Gibbs asked, clearing his throat a little and turning back to preparing dinner, which appeared to be spaghetti and pre-made meatballs from the freezer.

"I'm not sure if I should. She didn't want to talk about it earlier and we both know how reactive she can be when pushed. I don't want to end up fighting with her over it. We won't have a productive talk unless she wants to discuss how things are going. However, it isn't a talk that can be put off indefinitely. What do you think?"

Gibbs looked out at Ziva and considered it for a moment.

"Leave it for the night. It might be selfish but I don't want to have to discipline her right now. She's supposed to be un-grounded tomorrow. Wait until then."

Jenny smiled.

"I understand and agree. I am not eager to have to do any disciplinarian interactions with her tonight. Ducky is planning on un-grounding her tomorrow, correct?"

"Yep."

"Then maybe I'll have a chat with her on Friday. That will give her a day to enjoy her freedom and hopefully calm down enough to be willing to talk."

"Abs is coming over that night after work to help me build her bed. Maybe you could take that time with Ziva?"

"I have this Saturday off. Perhaps I will see if she would like to spend the night with me? That way Abby could have some time alone with you and Ziva and I would have time for a good chat."

"Sounds good in theory."

"I know, I know. We'll just have to see how it works in reality."

Gibbs inclined his head a little in agreement.

Jenny smiled.

"Now, do you have some fresh tomatoes? I have a wonderful pasta sauce recipe that will beat anything from a can. I know that you have all the other ingredients."

"Sounds good. We got some tomatoes along with the other groceries on our way home earlier. They're over there on the cupboard."

"Wonderful. Now just scoot to the side and give me some working room."

"When have I ever 'scooted'?!"

"Just now, thank you!"

They both laughed, their happiness spilling out of the kitchen window loudly enough that Ziva, who had been focused on her darts, suddenly realized that Jenny was there and that it might be interesting to go inside and see what was so amusing. The all-important darts might not be quite as amusing as spending time with Jenny and Gibbs after all.

Perhaps the darts could wait until the morning.

...

"So? Ducky? Ducky? Please do not make me stay grounded any longer!" Ziva begged with hopeful eyes at the end of her Thursday morning appointment after her therapy session.

Ducky chuckled, happy that being the "key keeper" of her grounding was a role that he could now relinquish.

"My dear, your side is almost perfectly healed. Now do you promise to take good care of it and yourself from now on?"

"Yes!" Ziva replied, nearly choking in her eagerness to answer.

"Well, then, I see no reason for you to stay grounded. Jethro?"

They both turned to Gibbs who had come to the doorway when he had heard them finishing.

"Will you behave?"

"Forever!" Ziva responded instantly and optimistically.

Gibbs shook his head good naturedly.

"Then go be free, Ziver."

"Yes!" Ziva cheered triumphantly, running for the door, then pausing and turning back to Gibbs with a look of honest confusion on her face. "I am allowed outside, correct?"

"You can go. Just let me know when you do and where you're going, okay?"

"And no running for the first few days!" a perceptive Ducky added.

Ziva's smiled wavered for the briefest second, but then she seemed to consider her situation a little more.

"I ... promise not to run until you ... you tell me that I can," she said softly but sincerely.

A look of pleasant surprise washed over Ducky's face and he smile approvingly. "Thank you, Ziva. I trust you and know that you will keep your promise."

Ziva hesitated again. "I ... know that you trust me. And I will wait."

Then the emotions of being trusted and trusting began to overwhelm her and she headed for the door before quickly turning.

"Gibbs, I am going outside to ru... I mean, jog."

"I'll be leaving in twenty minutes. Will that be enough time?" Gibbs asked, smiling at the visible impatience on Ziva's face as she waited eagerly by the door.

"Yes!"

And then she was gone!

"I am unsure if I have ever been so happy to tell someone that a cut has healed properly," Ducky said.

Gibbs chuckled. "I understand. Out of all of the kids, she handles being grounded the worst. That's only going to happen again in cases requiring extremely severe discipline and for a pre-determined period of time."

"Too hard on you?"

"Yes!"

...

Outside, Ziva finished stretching and began to slowly jog off down the street. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the sunshine on her skin as she tied her jacket around her waist and began to pick up her pace while remaining aware of her promise to Ducky.

She smiled and felt the pent-up tension begin draining from her body.

The grounding was over.

Freedom - even if it was still according to that list of rules - was sweet.

**...**

**I was so happy to finally have Ziva happy with her freedom restored! I hope that you were too. But don't worry - there is still plenty more drama left to come!**

**Remember to check out the contest profile if you have time! We could use more participants, and readers/voters will be a valued commodity in about half a week!  
**

**Hugs! Stay safe and may God bless you all! **

**MM**


	35. Chapter 35 - A Fun Friday Evening

**Back for another chapter! Right now my area is facing a snow storm - hurray! It's a little out of season, but lovely all the same (despite being dangerous since the ground has thawed and the potholes are horrible!). **

**Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers. Happy women-make-a-difference day to any women who aren't! You are still making a difference, even if you don't have kids! :D **

**Just an update on the Quarantine Writing Challenge - there are 12 writers and 15 stories! We are in the voting period right now and it will last until May 11th. All of the stories involved are listed in the profile and in the favourite stories on that account, and the poll is open on the profile for voters! It would be awesome if you could spare some time to read the entries, encourage the writers, and vote for your favourites in the comedy and heroic actions categories! There are some NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Doctor Who stories, among others! I am hoping to finish reading through them all today. :) I wish that I could vote, but that would not be ethical, so I need others to be doing it. ;) **

**For those who are interested, I also have a poll on my profile for this account. It is asking for opinions on spanking being involved in my stories. I know some people love it and some people hate it, but I am trying to understand it a little better. The votes are ****completely anonymous**** and would be really interesting for me, so please check that out if you would like your voice to be heard! **

**Thanks to all the reviewers on the last chapter! You are ... Troubled-Angel-26, Queenofwheels, Loads of Randomness, Sarai, DS2010, A, S, Dawn248, and JessicaRae95. I appreciate it! And thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal whose encouragement helped me keep going this week! :D **

**Now that all those messages have been completed, please enjoy! **

**...**

"Help!"

Ziva ran to the door in response to the cry and opened it.

"Hi, Abby!"

"Hi, Ziva," came a muffled reply from behind the cupcake boxes in Abby's arms. All that could be seen of her head was the two high ponytails.

Ziva quickly took one of the boxes from Abby.

"Thank you!" Abby gasped in relief.

"I am happy that you are here!" Ziva said jubilantly.

"You're not grounded anymore?" Abby asked curiously.

"I got not-grounded yesterday!" Ziva replied triumphantly. "I have been outside all day today and tonight I am going to Jenny's house."

"Tonight?" Abby asked, thinly veiled disappointment in her voice.

"Jenny has meetings until 6:00, and then she is coming by and I am going to her house for the night. It will be so much fun!"

"And you and I are going to work on that bed for you," Gibbs said as he entered the room. He gave Abby a kiss on the top of her head as he took the remaining cupcake box from her. "Hi, Abs. Good day at work?"

"Yes. And I'm so excited to do the wood working! But, Ziva, I thought that you were going to be around too."

Ziva nodded. She was rather conflicted too, not having been given much choice in the matter. But lately? Everything had been out of her control. At least this was one activity that she would enjoy. She loved Jenny and spending time with her without Gibbs would be fun. It would be like back in the old days when they worked together and everything was normal and good and Ziva could quash every confusing emotion that she ever encountered.

She wished to sharpen that skill back to its former prowess but all of her recent attempts had been unsuccessful.

"I will be here until Jenny comes," she offered Abby. Her eyes sparkled with suppressed mischief as she added, "That is lots of time to eat cupcakes!"

Abby grinned and flipped open the box lids.

"Take your pick! A dozen of the most scrumptious cupcake recipes in all of Washington, D.C. are there in front of you! Enjoy!"

Ziva carefully looked over the decadent treats before selecting one with thick chocolate icing decorated in miniature chocolate chips.

"Thank you, Abby," she said gratefully before taking a nibble. "Oh, this is AMAZING!"

"I know, right?!" Abby cheered before turning to Gibbs. "I got a special bourbon-flavoured one for you, Gibbs! Here it is. Try it!"

Gibbs took the treat from Abby and took a bite of the confection before nodding his agreement. "Tastes good, Abs."

Abby beamed, glad that her gift was being appreciated so fully, then dove for a birthday-themed cupcake with piles of confetti sprinkles.

"Heavenly!" she stated, going in for a second bite. Once she swallowed, she took a moment to ask, "So, until Ziva goes, maybe we could play a game or something? We'd still have lots of time to work on the bed but that way she wouldn't be left out."

"I would not feel left out," Ziva protested. "Go ahead and work on your bed. It is fine with me."

Abby was hearing none of it and Gibbs agreed with a nod. "So, which game do you guys want to play?" Abby pressed.

Ziva, quietly pleased that she was not being pushed to the side in favour of a wood project, noted, "Maybe we should check which games Gibbs actually owns."

"Good point," Abby acknowledged, rushing to a closet. "McGee and I put some here a few months ago when we were here groun ... visiting."

Ziva immediately understood type of "visit" that Abby was referring to but she was in no mood to tease. Her own memories were far too recent and tender to engage in a discussion about that. Instead she quickly went to the closet and began rooting through the boxes. Abby joined her and after a few minutes emerged with a new card game that none of them had ever played before, supposedly dropped off by either Tony or Tim.

"I'll read the rules aloud," Abby said. "Ziva, you deal."

"Nothing for me to do?" Gibbs teased.

"Nope! You're too slow and this is a fast game!" Abby teased. Gibbs shook his head, amused, but left the two girls to their tasks.

Although the first two rounds were slow as they learned to play, they quickly got better - well, at least the girls - and the began enjoying the competition. Abby and Ziva were tied, leaving Gibbs far in the dust, by the time Jenny arrived.

"Having fun?" she asked, laughing a little at the confused expression on Gibbs' face as he tried to understand one of the more complicated rules that kept causing him to lose points.

"Hi, Jenny!" Ziva said, excited about their evening plans.

"Hi," Abby mumbled, distracted by her hand of cards, trying to decide on her best course of action.

"Hello," Jenny responded with a smile. "After this round is finished, are you ready to go, Ziva?"

Ziva nodded while simultaneously slapping down a card that cancelled out Abby's last action, causing the scientist's face to crinkle in thought as she tried to find a card to reduce the damage.

"I packed an overnight bag earlier," Ziva told Jenny. "And I am playing so well that I will be winning in just a few turns!"

"Ah ha! No, you won't!" Abby cheered triumphantly, laying down a winning card. Ziva frowned a little, then shrugged good-naturedly.

"You may have won this round, but next time I will beat you!"

Abby laughed and scooped the cards together to return to the box. "You just keep telling yourself that! While you and Jenny are away, maybe Gibbs and I'll keep practicing!"

"I thought we're going to work on that bed of yours," Gibbs said with a tone that revealed how much he had disliked the confusion of the game.

"Of course. I'm just teasing Ziva," Abby replied, hopping up from the table. "Let's order takeout and start!"

Ziva smiled and grabbed her bag and jacket from next to the door. "I will see you later, Gibbs. Thank you for bringing cupcakes, Abby! They were really good."

"Anytime!" Abby hollered from the kitchen where she was sorting through the takeout pamphlets that Gibbs had acquired.

Gibbs came over to see them off and when Ziva showed no resistance, he gave her a small hug.

"I'll see you in the morning," he said.

Ziva smiled charmingly at both him and Jenny. "Maybe I could just go in to work tomorrow instead of coming back here."

"Not happening," Jenny and Gibbs chorused together.

Ziva's smile fell a little, but as it had been the answer that she had expected (even if she had not wanted it) she was not too surprised or disappointed.

"See you tomorrow then," she repeated, then grinned at Jenny. "Where are we going first?"

"How about Pierre's?" Jenny suggested, mentioning Ziva's favourite French restaurant.

"Oh, I love the food there!"

Jenny and Ziva chatted about their evening plans as they headed to the car and Gibbs waved to them from the window before turning back to his own evening guest who was wielding the pamphlets and phone like a fast food champion.

Although that was one area where he could beat her!

He cleared his throat to get her attention. When she raised an eyebrow in question, he started talking. "There's a deal there this week. And make sure you order extra sauce and..."

...

Gibbs always enjoyed spending time with Abby - at least when her caffeine levels were at appropriate positions - and he thoroughly enjoyed her delight with the whole process of making her bed. Between the greasy take out and stories of what had happened at work over the last week in his absence, things felt back to normal. There was nothing that would convince him to stop caring for the little assassin now, but he missed spending time with his other team members too. It was easy to tell that Abby needed some attention as well and she laughed and smiled the entire evening, except for the one moment when she leaned her head against his shoulder before leaving and whispered, "Ziva's going to be okay, right?"

"Of course," he assured her.

"Promise?"

"As much as I can promise about someone else, I promise," he told her.

Abby pulled back and looked at him seriously. "She's very important to us, you know."

"I know."

Then Abby impulsively hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered so quietly that he could barely hear her.

"I'd do it for any of you."

This time it was Abby's turn to say "I know."

Gibbs smiled, then turned the subject to less emotional matters. "We got a lot of progress done on your bed. I'd say in maybe three of four more evenings, we'd have it ready."

"And then I can paint it?!"

"Yes, you can paint it if it means that much to you."

Abby grinned, then looked at her watch. "Well, it's 11:30 and even though it's a weekend I should head home. Thanks for the great evening, Gibbs!"

"That was all you, Abs."

Abby beamed, gave him one last hug, then headed out the door.

"I'll call you tomorrow. Maybe we can all do something fun together, like a picnic," she called back.

"Sounds good. Love ya, Abs."

"Love you too, Gibbs!"

...

Gibbs was cleaning up in the basement - Abby's enthusiasm in wood working had not exactly followed his regular, meticulous patterns. Just then he heard the door slam and a creak in the floorboards that indicated that someone had entered the house.

"What'd you forget, Abs?" he hollered upstairs, amused. It was fairly regular for Abby to forget something and come bursting back to locate and retrieve it before heading home.

Except this time there was no answer, except for the repeated squeaks of several floorboards.

Someone was pacing.

Gibbs shook his head, then hurried up the stairs.

Just as he had suspected - there was a figure in black, holding a knife and muttering angrily under their breath.

Although that kind of behaviour with anyone else would have him drawing his gun, this time he relaxed although his mind was flooded with questions.

His daughter was back home.

"Hey, Ziver."

**... **

**Please remember to check out the poll on my profile page as well as the Quarantine Writing Challenge. We really need more voters for that so if you could stop by that would be lovely! **


	36. Chapter 36 - Grumpy Explanations

**Hey, everyone! Finally, another chapter. :) **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for helping with a proofread. :D You rock! **

**Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter - I appreciate that you are all continuing to read. I love this story so much and I'm glad that others seem to love it too! Thanks to all the reviewers - Troubled-Angel-26, Sarai, Loads of Randomness, Queenofwheels, DS2010, S, Tamara, Fan, JessicaRae95, Guest, and NaughtyAngelBrat (who was catching up and left me many wonderful reviews - thank you so much!). **

**I hope that you all enjoy! **

**If you have ideas for what you'd like to see through the rest of the story, let me know. I can't promise anything but I might be able to include some other ideas into it. :) **

**Now, have fun reading! **

**...**

"Hey, Ziver," Gibbs said calmly. "What are you doing back here tonight?"

Ziva swung around and glared at him, although he could sense her anger was being directed elsewhere. There was no blood on the knife so he was fairly confident that she had not killed anyone. She snapped it closed and put it back in her pocket, confirming to him that she was not bringing him a murder weapon but was instead playing with it to "self-soothe", albeit in a unique manner.

"You would not believe it!" she fumed, pacing a little more. Obviously she was high on adrenaline.

She's annoyed at Jenny for something.

Gibbs smiled grimly, sensing a long and dramatic night ahead. "Try me," he said drily. "I have a feeling that I would."

"I do not want to talk about it."

"Ziver, you are here instead of at Jen's and you're obviously in the middle of a temper ..."

"Am not!"

He ignored her protest and continued, "I think you owe me a few answers at the very least. Now sit down and we'll talk."

"No!"

He quickly looked at her expression. Yep, there was more to that refusal than simply being too agitated to sit. He rolled his eyes back for a second of reflection on how life would be without kids, before remembering that there was apparently some reason that made it all worth it. Then he got up and placed his hands on Ziva's shoulders.

"What'd you do?" he asked.

"Nothing!"

"That seemed a little too quick. Want to think it over again?" Gibbs asked.

"Nooo." That time the answer was slightly less sure and Ziva did not appear to want to make eye contact.

_How interesting. _

He simply waited. Gibbs could always tell when someone was stalling - he had worked with Tony and Abby for far longer than he had known that Ziva even existed and those two were notorious for stalling when the truth was uncomfortable ... or about to be.

But he also had a lot of patience and knew that if he just waited long enough Ziva would want to get it over with and just tell him.

Although ... Ziva was far more stubborn than Tony or Abby. She folded her arms and glared at Gibbs.

"I do not want to talk!" she growled under her breath.

Gibbs waited. Two minutes passed.

"I will not talk!" she protested.

He was silent. He was just as stubborn as she was and had practiced the art of being immovable for a decade or two before Ziva would have even been conceived.

After five minutes it paid off when Ziva huffed in frustration before admitting, "I got in an argument with Jenny and I could not stand being around her anymore so ... I came back here."

Gibbs felt a warmth in his chest as he registered the detail that of all the places Ziva could have gone, she chose his house despite the fact that she would know that it would result in some sort of confrontation over her actions. She was feeling safe there. Somehow something was working at reaching through to her.

But then, part of being a secure place for Ziva meant being consistent. And running away from Jenny would need to be seen as consistently wrong, no matter the argument. But he would work up to that with her. For now he had to try to understand the situation a little bit better before he started to scold.

"What'd you argue about?" he asked, stepping back and checking something before refocusing on Ziva.

...

Ziva paced a little, channeling her frustration into her movements. When Gibbs asked what she had argued about with Jenny she focused a little more on pacing in a circle, hoping that the exertion would explain the colour in her cheeks as she mumbled, "Nothing important."

Gibbs stopped her pacing with a gentle hand on her shoulder and she keep her head lowered just enough that she would not have to make eye contact.

"Tell me, Ziva."

No "Ziver", so he was getting more and more serious. Both he and Jenny were so serious tonight! She did not like it, not one little bit.

"I ... I tried to ..."

Ziva suddenly realized that what she was going to have to admit was going to make Gibbs a little annoyed. She stepped backward to make some space between them in case what she said made him want to head slap her.

"Ziva David!"

_Yes, his patience is gone._

"I tried to convince her to let me go back to work on Monday."

...

Gibbs had to fight back a smile when Ziva finally admitted that the "not important" argument had been about returning to work. He had suspected that she would put in some sort of plea when she got Jenny on her own. He was glad that the two of them had a relationship that had spanned over the years. Although it seemed natural lately for him to take on a father role for Ziva, he knew that Jenny as a mother figure was something that had been introduced several years previously and was thus easier for Ziva to accept now. It was clear that she did not like some aspects of Jenny's increased involvement, such as rules and consequences being regularly enforced, but she seemed to accept it with less of a fight than she did with Gibbs. But he could tell from Ziva's body language and reactions that she viewed Jenny as the "nice parent". Of course she was going to try to convince Jenny to convince him that the ninja could return to the field immediately.

But of course, as he expected, Jenny had said "no". And apparently that had not gone over well with the hopeful agent.

"We had already told you that you would not be going back right away," he reminded her calmly. "Why did you think that the answer was going to change?"

...

_Because you are the mean one and I thought Jenny might be nice if I could just convince her that I was all better! But that did not work!_

Ziva recrossed her arms and tilted her chin a little.

"I wanted to go back on Monday," she said simply but with a stubborn undertone.

"Well, that's not happening. I'm guessing Jen told you that too."

Ziva reluctantly nodded.

"And I'm guessing you didn't like that."

Ziva felt her jaw stiffen. She sure had not! She had allowed herself to get a little too hopeful and she had been disappointed.

"We ended up arguing a lot about it," Ziva admitted again.

"How did that go?"

Ziva lowered her head a little. "Jenny got upset."

_And when she gets upset then __she__ is the mean parent!_

...

Gibbs could see that Ziva was calming down and was more upset and disappointed than angry now.

"I'm guessing neither of you were too calm about it."

"No," she mumbled.

"Were you disrespectful?" Gibbs asked perceptively.

Ziva shrugged a bit, uncomfortable. "Maybe."

"Ziva?" he said warningly.

"Yes," she grumbled.

"And then what happened?"

"Jenny ... swatted me."

_No surprise._

"And let me guess - that's why you got mad and ran away."

Ziva frowned. "There was more to it than that!" Her face fell a little. "Can I stay here tonight like normal? I do not want to have to go back to Jenny's."

Gibbs took a moment to consider - and quietly rejoice in the fact that she saw staying at his house as normal and a place of refuge now - then he carefully answered, "You're not fixing anything here. Go talk to Jenny and then if you still want, you can stay here tonight."

"What do you mean, talk to her?" Ziva asked nervously. "You are not going to take me back to her house, are you?"

"Nope," Gibbs said calmly, opening the door and pointing to the driveway. There was Jenny's car. Unfortunately, Jenny was inside. "Go. Talk," Gibbs ordered with a gently pressure on her back.

"I do not want to!" Ziva pleaded in the form of a protest. She had not interest in discussing her actions with Jenny, but Gibbs gently pushed her.

"Go on. It won't be as bad as you think," he said reassuringly.

Ziva gave him a disbelieving look as she found herself on the porch step.

"You want to bet?!"

Gibbs gave her what she assumed what meant to be a reassuring smile before closing the door, forcing her to face the problem. She took a deep breath, trying to regain her bravado, and then went over to Jenny's car and grumpily opened the door and glared at Jenny.

"What are you doing here?"

There was the tiniest of uncertain squeaks at the very end of her question.

Jenny gave her a steely look. "Get in. We need to have a talk."

**...**

**Thank you so much for reading! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Any guesses/suggestions for the next chapter? Let me know! **


	37. Chapter 37 - Frustration

**It is five minutes past 12:00 (so technically June 11) where I am as I am writing this, but I will count it as still Wednesday (June 10th) anyway. :) So, guess what is one year old today? That's right ... this story! Happy birthday, dear "Echoes", happy birthday to you! One year in and I am still loving writing it and interacting with all you wonderful readers! **

**Thirty-seven chapters. Four hundred and twenty-seven reviews. Fifty-two favourites. Eighty-eight follows. One amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing year! Thank you ALL so much! **

**I want to thank fiftyshadeswritergal for all the support that she has given with this story over the past year. Thank you to all the readers who have read this story, and special thanks to the reviewers and those who have communicated with me about how they have connected with or enjoyed this story. I am so grateful for your help and encouragement and amazing support through everything that I have dealt with over the past year while also trying to write often. You are a wonderful community - thank you for your amazing love and support! **

**Thanks to the reviewers on the last chapter - Troubled-Angel-26, Sarai, DS2010, Loads of Randomness, Queenofwheels, Guest, Tamara, Fan, S, Fashionista-girl, NaughtyAngelBrat, JessicaRae95, and KrisShannon (thanks for the amazingly large review!). **

**Now, enjoy! **

**Warning - one swat.**

**...**

Ziva reluctantly got into the car and sat as far away from Jenny as possible, leaning against the door in an effort to preserve distance.

"You, young lady, have a lot of explaining to do," Jenny said as a start to their conversation.

"I do not want to explain anything," Ziva replied loftily while wisely keeping her eyes away from Jenny's face. She knew that if she made eye contact it would be nearly impossible to continue being so brave ... or brazen. Whatever it was, it was preferable to feeling guilty.

"Would you prefer getting a spanking before or after explaining?" Jenny asked flatly.

"I am not getting a spanking! I did not do anything wrong!" Ziva protested angrily.

"I had told you to go up to your room and go to bed and that we would talk more in the morning. Sneaking out of the window and running away is not exactly classified as obedience."

Ziva crossed her arms defiantly. "You never told me that I could not leave your house."

"But I'm fairly certain we've already had a talk about climbing out of windows and down trees."

"My cut is all better now so that should not be a rule anymore."

"Well, sorry to disappoint," Jenny said with a heavy dose of sarcasm, "but I don't think that your safety should only be important to me when you are already hurt. I would like to prevent a repeat of it."

"I did not hurt myself! I am fine!"

"This time."

"And every other time that I have done it!"

Jenny gave Ziva an unimpressed look that demanded the truth.

"Only once out of what must have been hundreds of times."

"Hundreds?"

"At least, dozens."

"And why have you done that?" Jenny asked, sidetracked for the moment.

Ziva, deciding that this was not exactly any better than their current topic of conversation, refrained from answering. Her silence was taken by Jenny as a reason to return to the scolding that she had been giving so diligently.

"Anyway, it does not matter whether or not you got hurt - although I am relieved that you did not. You just cannot run away from your problems in that way whenever you want."

"I am not running away. I was ... running back here. Where I am supposed to be staying until you and Gibbs and Ducky finally are satisfied" - Ziva nearly spat the word out - "and I can go back to my own apartment. So, really, you should be pleased that I am back where I am _supposed_ to be."

Jenny raised an eyebrow artfully at Ziva's tone but left it at that for the moment although her look promised that it would be brought up again in the future.

"I am glad that you returned to Jethro's house," Jenny said softly, "but that is also not the point. You were supposed to be at my house tonight, darling, and you ran away. And I would like to know why so that we can avoid it happening again and also so that I can deal with this situation fairly and appropriately."

"You do not have to deal with it at all," Ziva grumbled mutinously.

"I disagree. Now, I know that you were unhappy about me saying that you could not go back to work just yet. I know this is frustrating for you. I know how much you love your work."

Ziva nodded a little. She was still grumpy but she felt a little better knowing that she was at least being acknowledged.

"But ..."

Ziva frowned. She hated "buts" in conversations like this. It usually meant that Jenny was about to give her a reason that she was still in trouble despite having a legitimate reason for being upset.

"I tried to talk to you. I have told you that we needed to discuss your counseling sessions before I will consider letting you come back."

"It's not my fault that we argued over _that_! You were the one who wanted to talk about it, not me," Ziva said sullenly.

"I brought it up, but you could have respectfully declined to discuss it. Instead you threw a fit. And , yes, we do need to talk about the counseling sessions and that becomes more necessary every day. You keep begging to return, sweetheart, but that will not be happening until you fulfill the prerequisites."

"The what?" Ziva asked, puzzled.

"Prerequisites - things that are required to be finished before you move on to the next task."

Ziva did not exactly like that definition.

"And right now, young lady, you have quite a number of prerequisites to fulfill before you go back to work."

She liked that even less.

"And now we will have a prerequisite to the prerequisites."

"What?" Ziva asked nervously.

"Dealing with you running off in the middle of the night."

"First, you do _not_ need to deal with it. And second, it is not the middle of the night! It will not be for another ..."

She looked up as Jenny opened her door and got out, slamming the door after her and coming around to Ziva's side.

_Maybe I pushed her a little too far._..

Jenny opened Ziva's door, pulled the reluctant young lady out of her chair, gave her one firm swat, then took her hand and pulled her back toward Gibbs' door. It was all done so firmly and quickly that Jenny was opening the door and pulling her into the house before she even processed the swat.

"Oww!" she protested, pulling away from Jenny. It was too late. She was already inside of the house - and there was Gibbs with a frown identical to Jenny's.

_And now there are two of them. _

Her face reflected her despondency. Then her annoyance. Then her spark of rebellion.

_Who do they think they are?! _

_I have been fine many years without them. I will be fine for many more years without them as well. This is just humiliating. Me ... being caught by them! When did I sink so low?_

Jenny seemed to be able to hear Ziva's thoughts because now, with a witness/backup she let loose a lecture. "Do you want to know how I found you, Ziva? Would you like to know how I knew to find you here and not at your own apartment or a bar or anywhere else in this town? You claim that you are fine, that you are just as alert and capable as before. Well, I followed you from the end of my street all the way here. I never lost sight of you for more than one minute at a time."

Ziva, who had been glaring at Jenny and wishing that she could someone inflict pain with just her eyes - other options were unavailable with Gibbs standing nearby, silent but forboding - suddenly found some of her anger was replaced with shock.

Jenny continued. "I was not trying to be evasive. I just followed you. Yet you were surprised to see me here! Your anger and frustration took such total control of you that you were incapable of detecting obvious surveillance. What if that had been a predator instead of me, Ziva? What if it has been a shooter, a kidnapper, a suspect? What then?!"

Ziva was internally shaken. What Jenny had just told her made some part of her innermost core feel frozen solid at the thought that she had let her passion completely overtake the training that she had received since she was old enough to ... think. But "bad girl" Ziva simultaneously surfaced.

"I would have preferred them to you," she muttered under her breath.

Jenny stopped short. Her face, already pale from the stress and fright of what she had witnessed, went even more pale as she stepped toward Ziva with a deathly cool.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

"I would have preferred them to you," Ziva replied, more frigid in her words than Jenny had been.

She _nearly_ felt sorry when tears sprang to Jenny's eyes and she went silent in dismay. _Nearly. _But not quite. Ziva had been bottling up her anger ever since arriving at Gibbs' and now the dam was being overrun. Her resevoir was loosed.

"Why will you not leave me alone? If I had needed to I would have defended myself. I do not need your help to protect myself. I do not need it in anything, you..."

Gibbs stepped forward to stop Ziva from getting into some "creative" name calling.

"Bed. _Now._"

Apparently deathly cold commands were in fashion tonight.

"NO!"

And yelling was about to be.

Gibbs leveled her with the look he used when interrogating the worst of criminals ... and occasionally Tony. "Ziva, do not push me. Go to your room and go to bed," he growled.

Ziva could growl too.

"I do not want to!"

She felt a firm hand on her arm and yanked away. A flash of something went through her eyes, combining with the anger for a mere moment.

Gibbs looked at her sternly but did not reach out again, seeing that she was too agitated and furious ... at what exactly was uncertain. Yes, it was directed at him and Jenny. But he had a gut sense that this burst of rage had been simmering for a long time. He had also spotted that streak of fear in her eyes when he had lightly touched her arm. His own frustration was immediately locked under control and he made a small hand motion toward Jenny to let her know he had it under control - even if that was not exactly the case just yet.

"Go to the corner."

"NO!"

Secondarily, she thought "why?"

"You need to calm down," Gibbs said sternly but with a level tone. "Go to the corner."

Ziva tipped her chin up a little. "No. From what I have heard, that is a punishment only used for children. I am no child."

"It can also be successfully used on those acting like children," Gibbs said with conviction. "Now, you can choose to go stand in the corner now or tomorrow, but you will need to stand in the corner for twenty minutes here in the living room when you are ready."

"I will never be ready," Ziva replied with an air of superiority. She had gotten him there!

"Then you can consider yourself grounded until you do and until you face the consequences of what you've done."

"I just got done being grounded! You cannot ground me again!" Ziva protested with something near a shriek at the thought of being grounded again ... despite the fact that she had just convinced herself that she would not be in trouble if she simply refused to accept the consequences.

"It's only until after you do your corner time and whatever other consequences are appropriate for running away in the middle of the night and being disrespectful," Gibbs said calmly.

Ziva thought over the list of rules which she had surreptitiously read again and again until she had learned them by heart. Despite not liking the rules she did like the fact that she had easy access to them ... just in case there was a chance where she could protest that she was being punished unfairly. That had not happened as of yet, but she lived in hope. From what she remembered - to the sinking of her stomach - deliberate disobedience and putting herself in danger would earn her a spanking, if Jenny's previous declaration had not already alerted her to the fact that she was going to get one. And then being repeatedly disrespectful was certainly not increasing her chances at getting away without some sort of consequence for that either.

If Ziva had not possessed the heart of a lion she would have broken down in tears and begged for mercy. But she did and so she did not.

"Why don't you just get the corner time over with? Then we can sit down after and talk about your actions and figure out what would be appropriate discipline for them," Gibbs said reasonably.

"NO!" she hollered back at him, once again feeling the explosive power sneak out through her words ... or rather, a word.

"Why?" Jenny asked quietly.

"What?" Ziva asked, a little confused and becoming quieter and calmer at the basic question.

"Why?" Jenny repeated.

"I do not want to," Ziva pouted.

"Why not?"

Ziva frowned. "I do not want to have to stand in a corner or be punished..."

"Disciplined," Gibbs corrected quietly.

"It is not enjoyable from what I have heard. And it is not fair!"

"How is it not fair?" Jenny asked calmly.

"Everything is unfair!" Ziva burst out unhappily. "I want to be able to do what I want when I want to do it - go to bed or stay up, eat or drink whatever I want, walk wherever I like at whatever hour of the night I like. I am tired of you both being so bossy! I want you to just _leave me alone!_" she screamed. Gibbs and Jenny pressed down the urge to reprimand and watched her quietly.

Ziva shot an angry look at the two of them. Oh, so they thought that if they stayed silent that she would listen! Well, she would not! She would just leave!

Outside was not an option. She had a feeling that heading toward the door would elicit quite the response from Gibbs and Jenny. She wanted to get under their skin but she also wanted a victory.

The kitchen was open to the living room and so it was not dramatic enough for consideration. Stalking down the stairs would be dramatic ... but she quickly remembered what had happened down there the last time she was in trouble. She had a feeling that the stool was still there and if Gibbs came down ... no thank you!

Upstairs was the only option. She turned her back on the two others and marched upstairs. She almost went into her room but decided against it when she remembered that the door did not have a lock. Just like downstairs, it did not seem like the best place to go when trying to avoid a spanking. She dashed into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She sat on the counter, crossed her legs, and rested her head on her hands. Her heart was beating quickly and adrenaline was pouring through her system.

_Just let them try to get me out of here!_

...

"Just let her work it out?" Jenny asked softly after the bathroom door upstairs slammed closed followed by the determined click of a lock.

"Yep," Gibbs confirmed with a small smile.

They settled it. Gibbs handed Jenny half of the newspaper and he worked on reading through the other half.

...

One minute passed.

No Jenny or Gibbs.

Five minutes passed.

Still no Jenny or Gibbs.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

Thirty minutes.

Sitting on the counter was too uncomfortable and Ziva transitioned to sitting curled up on the floor of the shower.

Sixty minutes.

Had they forgotten her?

Ninety minutes.

Did anyone in this house ever have to use the bathroom?!

Somewhere approaching two hours Ziva sneaked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. There was no sign that anyone had been up to even check if she was still there.

A little miffed and very tired, Ziva reluctantly cast a glance toward the stairs. She really wanted to go stir up a little more trouble.

But she honestly did not have enough energy. She went toward the stairs and peeked down. There were Jenny and Gibbs ... reading a newspaper?

She had completely exploded and they were reading about the stock market and weather forecasts?!

What did it take to get those two to react the way that they were supposed to?

Ziva wearily went to bed. The anger that she had been holding had dried up a little somewhere between squeezing herself on a cupboard next to a dripping sink and spying on Jenny and Gibbs reading a boring old newspaper.

She fell asleep. Tomorrow would be another chance to start causing trouble again.

...

"Can we stop pretending now?" Jenny asked in a whisper, rustling the newspaper to cover her words.

"Yeah, she should be asleep by now," Gibbs replied.

Quietly they set aside the newspaper that they had read over at least three times. Then they went upstairs on tip toe and sneaked into Ziva's room. Gibbs made sure the curtains were closed so sunlight would not wake her prematurely. Jenny gently adjusted the blanket so that it would cover Ziva's feet better. They both kissed her forehead and sneaked back out of the room.

Tomorrow would be another chance to help Ziva learn how much she was loved.

**...**

**I hope that you enjoyed! This chapter was a little longer so I hope that you were able to enjoy that quite a bit! :D **

**If you have a moment, I'd love to hear from you in the reviews! ;) :D **


	38. Chapter 38 - Problems and Pancakes

**I have been getting in some good writing on this story and I am loving it! :D I think that you will too! **

**Thanks for reviewing to the following: dawnmarie1971, Queenofwheels, NaughtyAngelBrat, Loads of Randomness, Sarai, Troubled-Angel-26, JessicaRae95, DS2010, Rocketgirllily, A, Tamara, S, Fan, KrisShannon, Fashionista-girl (for both reviews), rhiakate (for three reviews), Ziva's twin LOL (I love the name!), Guest, helltowngirl61 (two reviews), and Guest (Wow! Your review was amazing! Thanks!).**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

Ziva woke up early - 4:30. She was rather eager to avoid having to interact with Gibbs and Jenny and she dressed quickly in a dark outfit. She sneaked down the stairs. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest when she realized that Jenny was sleeping on the sofa. She walked slower and as softly as possible to the door. She reached out for the door knob, expecting at any second to hear Jenny's voice telling her to "stop right there" - but it did not happen. She slowly turned the doorknob. Freedom was right there.

She considered staying a little flash of guilt when through her mind as she dared a peek back at the sleeping Jenny. But then indignation took over. So they thought that they would watch her and make sure she stayed? Just let them try!

She closed the door carefully behind herself and began to jog down the street - not run, as it was not Ducky that she was trying to rebel against. There was a diner nearby. She would just go there and get some coffee and perhaps some breakfast. Pancakes sounded good. Then, when she was good and ready, perhaps she would return to Gibbs'. But only if she wanted to do so.

...

"Where is she?" Jenny repeated, having gone through the house twice in search of the missing Ziva.

"I heard the door opening early this morning but I thought it was you getting something from your car or needing to go into work," Gibbs said, taking another swig of his coffee. Frustration was clear across his face. "She's going to get it good when she gets back."

"Remember to stay patient," Jenny reminded absently but her own expression boded no good for the missing young lady.

"I'll be patient but she's still in more trouble than she will know what to do with."

Jenny smiled grimly. "That could not be more true!" She looked around in confusion. "She sneaked right past me and I did not hear a thing. Where do you think she went? And what if she doesn't come back, Jehtro? Did I push her too hard last night? Did I trigger her somehow? Is she going to be okay? Is ..."

Gibbs set down his coffee mug and gently placed his hands on Jenny's shoulders, cutting off her frantic worrying,.

"She's not gone far. She's just still in a temper. She doesn't want to leave. When she calms herself down a little then she'll be back. Until then, we just need to wait. And it wouldn't hurt to decide on what consequences would suit her actions before she arrives in a bad mood."

"Are you going to ground her again?" Jenny asked reluctantly.

"No!" Gibbs said emphatically. "Not going to do that again so soon - besides, like I said yesterday, she will be grounded just until she accepts all of the other consequences she has earned. If I change that on her she will never forgive me. I think this is going to require more than one spanking, so she'll be grounded until her discipline is finished. Then she'll be done.."

Jenny nodded in agreement. "I think that will go well. Grounding did not exactly accomplish a whole lot last time."

...

Ziva sat at the counter of the diner, eating her pancakes. This was a diner that Gibbs had taken her to previously and the food was delicious. The coffee was a little strong for her tastes but it was bearable with some cream and sugar. She needed the caffeine. She had left her phone at home but she figured that she would have been discovered missing by now.

As the pancakes and coffee disappeared her stomach felt like it was dropping farther and farther. The realization that she was going to have to go back to Gibbs' house was becoming more and more concerning.

I did not really think this through before acting, she considered gloomily.

"Would you like a refill?" the waitress asked.

"Yes," Ziva replied with conviction. She went through two more mugs in quick succession as she considered her options.

_Go back?_

_I do not want to do that._

_Go to my apartment?_

_They will look there immediately._

"Darlin', are you one of Mr. Gibbs' kids?" the waitress asked as she stopped by once again.

"What?" Ziva asked, jerked out of her internal struggles by hearing Gibbs' name. She looked around nervously. "Um, no, I just work with him."

The waitress smiled knowingly. "Oh, then you're one of his kids. Zelda ... no, no ... Zoe, right?"

"Ziva. Ziva David," she emphasized to clear up any misconception that she was related to Gibbs.

"I've heard that you are quite an accomplished fighter. He's pretty proud of you, ya know," the waitress said, smiling fondly.

Ziva, who did not know, blinked in surprise.

"I know what proud fathers look like, so I would know!"

Ziva was still shocked into silence.

"And that picture from Christmas was beautiful. You and all the others - Abby and Tony and Tim. They're in here every so often. I always like seeing him with any of you kids - it's not good for him to be alone so much, you know. He's been coming in here for years but it's only been the last few years where I've started to see him looking happy - real happy. You all are good for him." The waitress smiled wryly. "But don't tell him I told you all that - I think he likes to appear all stoic and such," she chuckled. "You tell him I said 'hello' when you see him later."

"I will," Ziva said absently. She reached for the bill and pulled some money out of her wallet which she had the presence of mind to grab on her sneaky way out the door. She left enough to pay for her breakfast and leave a decent tip. "Thank you," she told the talkative waitress.

"Oh, anytime, darling. Come again with Gibbs sometime."

Ziva smiled a little tensely, but once she got outside she let out a big sigh, then turned back toward Gibbs' house.

It was time to go home.


	39. Chapter 39 - A Talk About Trouble

**First off, thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for all the work that she did with reading through chapter after chapter and editing. :) She is so awesome!  
**

**Thanks to the reviewers - Troubled-Angel-26, Loads of Randomness, Sarai, fiftyshadeswritergal, DS2010, rhiakate, Ludy, S, Suzy Q1068, dawnmarie1971, Guest, didodado, KrisShannon, JessicaRae95, and NaughtyAngelBrat. **

**I would love to recommend for you all to read "Wingnuts" by rhiakate. It includes spanking, but if you are here reading this I'm guessing that you are fine with that so go check their story out! :D I love it. Tony and Ziva have worked their way into a little trouble .. but I won't say anymore! Make sure to drop by there and read (tip: leave them a comment so that they can feel encouraged!). :D **

**By the way, speaking of spanking ... this chapter only talks about it but it _is_ in the next few chapter so please be aware of that. :) **

**Now, please enjoy the next installment of "Echoes". :D **

**...**

Ziva stepped into the house. It went against all of her training but she reached behind her and closed the door with a loud enough "click" that she was certain that Gibbs and Jenny would hear and come to investigate. Her escape was closed. Her eyes immediately went to the floor. She did not want to see Gibbs and Jenny. She dreaded the looks of what she suspected would be disappointment and anger on their faces when they confronted her.

Her eyes fixed on Gibbs' pair of worn but well-polished shoes and Jenny's delicate high heels. She held her breath.

"Where were you, young lady?"

_Jenny is mad._

"Answer her right now, Ziva."

_Gibbs is as well._

"I just went for a little walk."

"Without permission?!"

_Well, obviously!_

Ziva bit back the remark and answered as politely as possible, "I had breakfast. I needed to eat and I wanted pancakes."

She saw Gibbs' shoes shift a little as he asked "So you went to the diner?"

"Yes," she replied softly before reluctantly adding, "The waitress said hello, Gibbs."

...

Gibbs could see something in Ziva's face. Once she mentioned the waitress he was able to surmise much of the conversation and thus why Ziva was shuffling through the door in a surprisingly meek fashion. He could give her credit for that - in what he was certain she was considering "weakness" she was exhibiting the greatest strength that she possessed. He reached over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He could feel the automatic, stifled flinch but continued to leave his hand on her shoulder. He gently pulled her toward the living room, giving Jenny a look over the curly head that was held low in shame. Jenny gave him a look that said that she understood - although she was not willing to erase the extra consequences.

"Corner time, Ziva. Twenty minutes. Go."

Ziva went _very _slowly, but she did go.

...

Thirty minutes had never felt so long. She had tried to turn around after five minutes to protest that it was silly.

"Back around or the time will be restarted," Gibbs said sternly.

"But ...!"

"Now."

She turned back around with a huff.

Five minutes later she tried again. She turned around with crossed arms and her most diplomatic tone.

"I am sure that I have learned everything possible from standing here." Then her face dropped a little and her voice took on a little bit of a whine as she added, "And it must be twenty minutes by_ now_!"

Jenny gave her an unimpressed look from out in the kitchen. "It was ten. But now the time has to restart. Turn back around and stand there for twenty minutes. If you turn around again the time will be reset again."

Ziva turned back with an even louder and more dramatic huff than last time. She wanted to fight this but decided to save her strength. Something told her this was the "easy" part of the discipline and that if she kept fighting it she might end up spending her entire day looking at the joining place of two boring walls. So she stood there, inwardly seething at the stupidity of it. But somewhere around ten minutes that anger was used up and she was left to ponder on why Jenny and Gibbs were using such a barbaric form of punishment. Because whatever it was, she was determined not to learn it!

Her pondering completely absorbed her mind so that she was unconscious of the fact that she was controlling her actions and calming down ... exactly like Gibbs and Jenny had wanted.

"Time's up. Come over and sit on the sofa," Gibbs said as he entered the living room, Jenny close behind.

Ziva warily dragged herself over and sunk down onto the sofa. She was immediately sandwiched by both Gibbs and Jenny. It made her stomach drop a little as she felt closed in by authority and enforcement. But somewhere behind the discomfort was a feeling of security in that she had been able to at least predict this. As much as she disliked the script of these ... encounters, at least Gibbs and Jenny had remained consistent. She twisted her hands nervously in her lap. Her eyes were focused unseeingly on a spot on the wall across the room. She was becoming undone by the stress. How was this possible?! She had always been able to hide her anxiety. She began to lightly scratch at the back of her hands until light pressure stopped her and she looked down in surprise. Jenny's hands were clasping one hand, Gibbs' calloused grip had the other. She tried to move her hands a little but the pressure on either side was even.

"We love you, Ziva," Jenny said patiently. Ziva could hear the genuine tone despite the exhaustion and annoyance - exhaustion and annoyance that her actions had caused. There was that tight feeling in her stomach, something uncomfortable. Something confusing.

"I ... am sorry," Ziva said softly. It took all the determination in her being to get the words out but ever since she had left the diner she had known that there were words that she needed to say.

...

Jenny's eyes widened as she heard Ziva's apology. Her heart leapt in chest as she realized what a big breakthrough this was. Maybe they were getting through! Maybe this was working!

She smiled at Gibbs. It was going to be okay. No matter what, it would be okay.

...

Gibbs was equally as proud of Ziva's apology but he was a bit more cynical. He had heard an awful lot of apologies before giving a spanking. Somehow the apologies were often retracted somewhere halfway through the spanking once the anger or protests were released. Of course he had developed the skills necessary to receive a more sincere apology at the end but he disliked the process just about as much as the "kids" did.

"Ziver," he started, using the pet name to comfort her but keeping a firm tone, "you're in a lot of trouble. You broke quite a few rules and we're going to have to deal with that. But before we do that, want to tell us why you left this morning without permission?"

...

Ziva squirmed a little at Gibbs' words. She did not like them very much. Many of the key words were making her internally wince as she considered exactly what consequences she was likely going to have to face.

But then, this was also her chance to explain, so explain she did.

"I just ... wanted to go on a walk."

"Even though you were grounded?"

"Yeeees. I really needed to go on a walk so I wanted to go on one before ... before Jenny or you stopped me."

"So you knew that it was the wrong thing to do?"

Ziva nodded reluctantly, choosing to stay silent to prevent some sassy remark slipping past her lips accidentally.

Gibbs and Jenny could see the self-restraint and did not push for a verbal answer.

Jenny squeezed Ziva's hand comfortingly while asking, "Any other reason for sneaking out?"

"Pancakes. I wanted pancakes."

Jenny gave her a questioning look that turned into a small smile as she judged the truth of Ziva's frank admission.

"Next time ask and we'll make sure you get any needed exercise or pancakes without breaking rules," Gibbs corrected before announcing the ultimatum. "Ziva, you've earned two spankings for your misbehaviour. You're going to get one right now from Jenny for running away from her house last night, directly disobeying her and putting yourself in danger. You will stay grounded for the rest of the day until bedtime, when I'll give you another spanking for leaving the house without permission this morning when you were already grounded. Do you have anything you want to say before Jenny disciplines you?"

Ziva had gasped a little when Gibbs told her that she had earned not one but two spankings. It was too much!

"But ... but I already said ... said sorry!" she protested.

"And now it is time for you to learn an important lesson," Gibbs said calmly. "As hard as it is for you to apologize and as much as that means to Jenny and me, it doesn't mean that you can get away with disobeying. The consequences still stand. You know the rules and their consequences. So now Jenny and I have to give them to you. Doesn't mean we like it. We just have to do it because that's how rules work. Now, anything else that you want to ask or say?"

Ziva crossed her arms. Her defensiveness was returning in the face of discipline.

"If you spank me I will not be sorry anymore," she threatened.

Gibbs hid his smirk. He could have predicted that.

"The consequences stay the same whether or not you feel sorry about it."

He gave Jenny the look that said it was her turn to take over. Jenny stood determinedly.

"Go on up to your room, Ziva. I will be right up with the spoon."

Ziva had still been seated but the moment that she processed what Jenny had said she planted herself even more firmly.

"Ziva."

Jenny said her name with warning heavy in the tone.

Ziva stayed.

"I do not like the spoon," she grumbled.

"Then don't break the rules. You already did - _and_ you broke rules that we have already had to discipline you for so this time the spanking has to be a little harder. So you're getting spanked with the wooden spoon. Now I suggest that you march right up to your room or I will spank you right here on the couch." Jenny's tone boded no nonsense. She had been preparing for this moment since she had woken up that morning. Even though she felt badly for having to spank Ziva it was something that she had to do. She figured that it was kindest to all of them to get the discipline out of the way, then comfort after the consequences had been paid.

But still ... her heart hurt. A spanking was no fun on her side either.

Ziva did not doubt that Jenny would through on the threat of an immediate spanking right where they were so she shot Jenny a glare of pure rage then brushed past Jenny and Gibbs, stomped up the stairs as loudly as possible, and then slammed the door to her with with enough force to nearly break it straight off the hinges.

...

"Hey! Fix the attitude," Gibbs said warningly, but he received no response as Ziva dramatically left the scene. Gibbs watched Ziva storm away before directing his attention toward Jenny with, "Make sure you get the 'Papa' spoon, Jen. Sounds like someone needs it."

"What?" Jenny asked, looking up from the drawer with a confused look. Gibbs turned around and smiled a little, realizing how absurd his words would seem.

"Oh, it's just something Abby called them. She calls the smallest spoon Goldilocks, then Baby, Mama, and Papa. I guess that the smallest one barely hurts at all and is 'just right' but it all gets worse from there until the Papa spoon is 'quite hard' to take - but somehow that's the one that works best on the worst attitudes."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "So Abby ... named the spoons that you use as spanking implements? Are you entirely sure that she is ... okay?"

Gibbs laughed again, but quietly enough that Ziva would not hear from upstairs and think that they were laughing about her. "She's got her quirks. She's always got to look for a bright or comical side, even if there isn't really one."

Jenny nodded in as much understanding of the situation as was possible, then lifted the biggest spoon. "Then 'Papa' and I are off to deal with Ziva. Wish me luck."

...

Ziva was seething upstairs in her room. She paced back and forth in front of the door a few times, then she stomped across the room and threw herself dramatically on the bed to await her fate.

_Unless ..._

Ziva shot a look at the door, then looked around the room.

She had an idea.

**...**

**Uh oh. Someone seems to have a plan. I wonder what that might be?! ;) Feel free to guess in the comments below! :D **


	40. Chapter 40 - Failed Plans

**Hi, everyone! Sorry that this is a day late. :S It's been a busy, tiring week. I will try to do better next week. On Tuesday I will be trying to post the next "In A Different Way" chapter. I meant to do it this past Wednesday but ... yeah. Sorry! **

**Wow! Chapter 40! :D It is amazing that we have gotten this far. And although I am starting to see signs that the end is "in sight" there is still lots to come. ;) **

**Thank you so much to fiftyshadeswritergal for her great job on editing. It added sooooooo much to this chapter in particular, so give her your thanks. :D **

**Special thanks to the readers who reviewed - Sarai, DS2010, Queenofwheels, fiftyshadeswritergal, dawnmarie1971, NaughtyAngelBrat, Troubled-Angel-26, Loads of Randomness, KrisShannon, S, Fan, and Ludy. You all make me smile so much. :) **

**Warning: Spanking in this chapter. **

**Now, enjoy! **

**...**

"Wish me luck," Jenny said softly as she passed Gibbs on her way to the stairs. In her hand was the dreaded wooden spoon. Jenny had used the implement on Ziva successfully several times in the past but she knew that the young lady was likely going to hate it even more today, based on the bad mood that she had just displayed on her way up the stairs combined with the knowledge that it would be followed by another spanking that night from Gibbs.

"I'm here if you need me," Gibbs said reassuringly.

"I hope not," Jenny said softly, not meaning his support but rather the need for the intervention.

Gibbs reached over and squeezed her hand. "It'll work out."

Jenny smiled at him, then lifted the spoon a little.

"Well, I better go deal with her before she takes the chance to escape out of her bedroom window again. Maybe come up when it's over?"

Gibbs nodded, then watched as she went upstairs.

She was the knight taking on the dragon.

...

Ziva heard Jenny coming up the stairs and laid back on the bed with a smirk. There was no way that Jenny was getting in now!

Ziva had fortified herself. She had shoved the doorstop beneath the door hard enough that it would not open. For an extra level of protection she had placed a chair underneath of the door knob as well. It was not exactly a vault lock but it was good under the circumstances. And it was _Jenny._ And it was not like the petite woman was going to break down the door of her maybe-almost-sometimes partner's house. Ziva's position was quite safe ... according to her.

Instead of feeling the normal dread at hearing Jenny approach before a spanking, Ziva was riding a high of adrenaline. She could not wait for Jenny to discover that the door was locked and then have to beg Ziva to let her in ... which would not happen until she got a signed piece of paper saying that all her spankings and one day of grounding had been revoked.

Jenny reached the door, lightly knocked and said, "Ziva, it's Jenny. I'm coming in."

_Just let her try!_

Jenny _did_ try. It did not work.

Jenny tried again. Ziva suppressed a giggle from her perch watching excitedly from the bed.

Then there was a slight shuffle outside. There was a small pop as Jenny forced the doorstop back from the other side of the door. Ziva's heart sank and her mouth went dry. Jenny pushed in the door and the chair, not too sturdily made and without any grips on the wooden floor, slid without offering much resistance. And within seconds, before Ziva could maneuver herself into a more defensive position than lounging across the bed, Jenny had marched in and taken a hold of her.

"You think that is funny, missy?" Jenny asked sternly, quickly sitting down on the bed and pulling the shocked young lady across her lap. "Do you think that trying to get out of spanking is going to stop you from being disciplined? Because it doesn't, Ziva." Her hands were at Ziva's waist, finally restoring the power of speech to the surprised girl.

"No! No!" Ziva gasped.

"Yes. You were going to have your spanking start on your pants but instead we'll start on your panties as you think this is some sort of joke. Hopefully that will help you learn that it isn't funny. Trying to get out of a spanking is always going to make it worse, young lady."

So despite the kicking and wiggling and verbal and non-verbal protests, Jenny got Ziva's pants down to her knees.

Normally Jenny would give a small scolding before starting but Ziva's antics had used up a great deal of her patience. She also highly doubted that a scolding would get through to Ziva at the moment. It would keep until later.

"No more running away," Jenny said simply before landing the first spank with her hand on Ziva's light yellow panties. Ziva's wild squirming paused. Jenny could tell that Ziva had not expected the spanking to start so soon and so quickly followed the first spank by several more all across her bottom.

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT!

"Stop it!" Ziva screeched, regaining her voice but not her composure. She missed her pants. And patient Jenny. The surprise at the change in format seemed to make the sting seeping through her underwear even worse. She writhed around, trying to look back. Yes, there on the bed was the dreaded spoon. Jenny had not forgotten or decided against it. This was only the warmup for the bigger half of the spanking to come.

"Hold still," Jenny countered with a non-nonsense attitude, moving her hand down to smack Ziva's sit spots.

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT!

SWAT!

Wriggling failed.

Kicking failed.

SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! Jenny's hand went in a circle around her bottom. Left cheek, right cheek, right sit spot, left sit spot. SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! SWAT!

Ziva was getting the distinct impression that perhaps heretofore she had been getting off with lighter spankings due to her inexperience.

Her stomach sunk as she realized that probably the only thing that all her pushing had gotten her was an even sorer bottom. Jenny - and probably Gibbs too - seemed more convinced of the importance of the rules than ever before.

The spanks had paused. Ziva gasped for breath, then realized that her bottom was feeling a draft of cold air. Jenny was lowering the panties, leaving the sore bottom fully exposed to whatever means of "torture" was next.

Then she felt the cool wood of the spoon rest against her lower set of cheeks for a second before a hard SPANK! landed, stinging mightily.

SPANK!

SPANK!

SPANK!

And then Ziva lost it.

Perhaps it was a natural reaction.

Or perhaps it was because she was in a testing mood and even though her bottom was being roasted and it was in for another spanking later, she just had to know if Gibbs and Jenny were serious on other rules.

But Ziva started swearing at Jenny.

The spoon paused against the center of her bottom and Ziva cut herself off, holding onto the thread of hope that perhaps Jenny had realized how ridiculous this whole thing was - after all, Ziva could take care of herself! She did not need rules or consequences or ...

"JETHRO! Get up here!"

_Great. Just great._

Jenny was not convinced of anything. But she was going to make sure that Ziva was.

**...**

**Oh, dear! Ziva is IN FOR IT! **

**Needless to say, spanking will be in the next chapter as well. :P **

**See you next week! (Hopefully Friday.)**


	41. Chapter 41 - Extra Intervention

**Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear-Guest-reviewer-whose-birthday-is-today! Happy birthday to you! **

**(They asked for an early update to coincide with their birthday. :D) **

**Thank you for your reviews! Just a note - not all reviews show up for me all the time, so if you ever review a chapter and I don't see it before the next chapter (like I think a review from Suzy Q1068 didn't show up well), I might not specifically thank you for it but I still appreciate it! :D So, thanks to those who commented on the last chaper - Sarai, Queenofwheels, Troubled-Angel-26, Loads of Randomness DS2010, NaughtyAngelBrat, Fan, S, Ludy, and Guest who has the birthday! :D **

**Warning: spanking. **

**Now, enjoy another chapter! **

**...**

Gibbs groaned as he heard the escalated tone in Ziva's voice. He could not hear the words but he had a feeling that he was going to have to step in and make good on his promise that swearing at Jenny or excessive defiance would result in him taking over the spanking until she calmed down again.

Then he heard Jenny call and his heart dropped a little. Just because he made a promise did not mean that he enjoyed following through on them. He hated being the "bad guy" but it was a role that sometimes he had to take for the future good of his team. He started up the stairs, then paused and looked back down, suddenly remembering a day from a long time ago.

_..._

_Kelly had refused to go to bed several times in a row, eventually screaming and throwing a tantrum when Shannon gave her the ultimatum to go to bed immediately or go to bed after a spanking._

_And so Shannon was giving their little girl a spanking in the living room. Unsurprisingly, Kelly's temper - __mostly__ inherited from Shannon, according to Gibbs - did not allow her to accept a spanking calmly. And it was then that Kelly decided to call her mother a bad name._

_Gibbs had looked up from the newspaper he was pretending to read to distance himself from Kelly's "help, Daddy!"s and saw the shock and hurt on Shannon's face. She froze and tears came to her eyes._

_So Gibbs had stood up, walked over, picked up Kelly, and given her a spanking for being disrespectful to her mother. Then he had taken her back to Shannon, made her apologize, and made sure that it did not happen again while Shannon delivered the last few spanks that had been promised for refusing to go to bed._

_Then they had both snuggled their little girl, kissed her cheeks, and carried her to bed where they tucked her in and stayed with her until she fell asleep._

_..._

Gibbs shook his head to clear it, then headed up the stairs. There was a different offended redhead, a different defiant girl - but his role of peacekeeping disciplinarian would be the same. And hopefully the resolution would be just as loving and beneficial as his own echoing memory from a lifetime ago.

...

Ziva panicked a little and fought against Jenny's restraint as she heard Gibbs start up the stairs, then pause before continuing. This could _not_ happen. The concern over the extended spanking was not the main concern. The fact was that she refused to cry when she was being punished. Ever since she had been a child she had fought against tears when being physically chastised. But with Jenny it was different. It reminded Ziva of the few times when she was very little that her Ima had spanked her across her lap. Jenny's gentle but firm hold and quick but many spanks reminded her of those long-ago punishments. And for that reason Ziva was not only able to cry during a spanking but she did so with gusto. Even now she could feel the tears just about to spill over. But she could not cry in front of Gibbs or over his knee! Jenny was not swayed by tears but she would encourage Ziva to "let it all out" and wipe her face gently when it was all over, kissing her forehead and saying that she was "such a brave little girl" despite the breakdown of emotions. Jenny did not punish her for crying. But all of the men who had punished her?

_Stupid girl! Stop that carrying on! _

_SPANK!_

_The only reason why you are being punished is because you did something wrong and earned your punishment. Now accept it like an honourable soldier! _

_SLAP!_

_Be quiet. If you cannot hold up under this then how can we trust you? _

_SMACK!_

No, she could not trust Gibbs to be any different. He may have said previously that it was okay to cry or struggle with being "disciplined" but that must just be a trap. He would wait until she dared to shed a tear and then punish her much worse.

She had to fight back the tears that Jenny's experienced hand had brought to the surface. She had to think of Gibbs as one of them so that she could be reminded of the necessity of hiding her fear and hurt.

She had the distinct idea that doing so would be difficult on all fronts.

...

Gibbs went to the bedroom door, knocked once, then opened the door. Jenny was giving Ziva's pants a final tug back into place. The squirming young lady's face was contorted with anger and frustration and some small amount of pain. Gibbs would have liked nothing better than to have the simple role of comforter but that was not to be. He exchanged a look with Jenny before coming over and taking hold of Ziva's hands as Jenny lifted the spankee to her feet. Ziva immediately tried to pull away but Gibbs kept a strong hold.

"What happened?" he asked. Ziva did not meet his gaze and remained defiantly silent so he turned to Jenny.

"Someone started swearing a me," Jenny said pointedly.

"I am not 'someone'," Ziva grumbled. Gibbs kept from rolling his eyes, instead taking a seat on the bed beside Jenny and expertly pulling Ziva across his knee. He raised his hand to begin the spanking, then paused.

"How was Jenny spanking you, Ziva?" he asked calmly.

"Hard," Ziva deflected.

Warningly he grunted, "Ziva?"

Silence.

He looked to Jenny for an answer.

"Ziva was getting a bare bottom spanking. I just pulled up her pants for while you got her in position. She said that is what you both agreed to when we discussed it previously."

Gibbs nodded and patted Ziva's back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "We did. Ziva, I'm going to take your pants down now, just bellow your bottom for your spanking like we agreed."

He paired words with actions. Ziva did as well as she squirmed uncomfortably and whined.

...

"This is not fair! I was not swearing at her!"

"Ziva," Jenny said patiently but with a dangerous edge to her voice, "Many years ago when I was visiting Israel your mother taught me enough Hebrew so that I know that you were swearing. Now do you want to admit the truth or do we need to deal with lying now too?"

Ziva, processing the fact that adding lying to the list would likely be worse than even apologizing, hung her head down and muttered, "I guess that maybe I swore ... but it was just a very little bit! And I will not do it again." That settled, she tried to stand and was brought to the sharp realization that Gibbs' hold on her was tight enough to prevent any attempt at escape.

"You still have to be disciplined for doing it this time," he said firmly. "Now tell me, Ziva, why I'm going to spank you."

Ziva pressed her lips closely together. They liked asking questions before giving a spanking, these two. But that must mean that they would not give the spanking until the question was answered. So perhaps staying silent would prevent the spanking altogether. It was really quite a good idea.

But Gibbs had good ideas too. And three spanks - SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! - with his hand was followed by "Give me an answer, Ziva, or I'll keep giving you a warm-up. The spanks I give you before you answer do not count toward the total that you are going to get for swearing."

The fact was, Ziva's bottom was already warm and she did not appreciate the idea that perhaps it could end up getting any warmer. Besides, those pesky tears were still stubbornly lurking and too many extra spanks might release them. It was a risk ...

SMACK!

... that she could not take.

"I am in trouble for swearing at Jenny," Ziva gasped out unhappily. Now she wanted to swear at Gibbs too but decided against it.

"Thank you," Gibbs said, adjusting his hold on her. "Now you're going to get ten spanks for swearing at Jenny - five with my hand and five with the spoon. Try to hold still."

There was no time to protest. Gibbs apparently wanted this part of the discipline to be over quickly and he spanked fast.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

Ziva kicked a little but not nearly as much as she dared with Jenny. Gibbs was already in a strict mood and no matter how much it stung she decided that fighting against it would likely make it worse. She was alternating between squeezing her eyes tightly closed and blinking rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"Five more," Gibbs said calmly, reaching around and picking up the spoon.

Ziva debated whining or asking for mercy but clamped her mouth closed tightly. Instead she tensed and waited.

_I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I cannot cry. I cannot cry. I cannot cry._

Gibbs felt her tense and paused for a second before continuing. "You're a good girl, Ziva. I know you are."

The sudden praise surprised Ziva and she relaxed just before the final five spanks, much slower than the first five.

SPANK!

_Ouch! But only four more. Blink hard, Ziva, blink hard._

SPANK!

_Why do they have to keep mixing up punishment and niceness?! It is VERY confusing!_

SPANK!

_I hate wooden spoons. And spankings. Wooden spoon spankings should be globally outlawed!_

SPANK!

_He spanked my thigh! That stings worse than anything else!_

_Maybe swearing at Jenny was a bad idea. Maybe I should not do that again. It only makes things worse and if I did it a third time I would be a complete fool. And I, Ziva David, am no fool._

SPANK!

_Ouch! The other thigh. That really hurt! I can feel tears still in my eyes. But I cannot cry. Not in front of Gibbs. He might repeat the whole thing again if I do and I could not bear that._

...

Ziva winced as Gibbs pulled her pants and underwear back over her sore bottom and Gibbs winced right along with her. Normally he was gentle with this part but as he knew that once she went back to Jenny they would be going back down he was not quite as concerned this time. He hated to see her pink and sore but it seemed to be the only way that worked at the moment. Talking, warning, scolding, therapy, discussions, lists, rules, promises, being sent to bed, grounding ... apparently there were times when spankings outweighed all other options. He lifted her up and looked at the flushed face. He could tell that she was on the verge of tears. He surmised that it was more from the situation rather than the spanks he had given.

Something pressed on his heart and he reached out and tightly lifted her chin, wincing a little as he saw the pain in her eyes.

"It's okay to cry, Ziva. It's not weak. I won't punish you for it. Never. That's a promise."

Ziva looked back at him with slightly damp and confused eyes before turning to Jenny.

**...**

**See you next week! :D **


	42. Chapter 42 - A Sting in the Soul

**I apologize that I have been forever in updating. My motivational levels are so low. Please forgive me. **

**I'm not listening specific thank yous (besides to fiftyshadeswritergal for proofreading and encouragement through this slump!) so that I won't give myself another reason to procrastinate. Please do know, however, that I read the comments and am very grateful. Hugs! **

**Now, enjoy! **

**...**

_My bottom feels on fire. It hurts so much._

"I ... will not swear at you again," Ziva said sincerely, turning to Jenny with true repentance in her heart.

"I know," Jenny said softly, reaching out and taking the young lady's hand. "I forgive you and I love you so much that even if you do mess up and do it again I will still love and forgive you. But," she added regretfully, "I need to finish giving you your spanking."

Ziva grimaced and looked distastefully down at the spoon that Gibbs had placed back on the bed.

"Yes, I have to use the spoon," Jenny assured her, gently pulling her back over her knee with a sad smile. "But it won't be a very long spanking. You'll be fine, Ziva."

The burning in Ziva's eyes made her think the opposite, especially as she realized that Gibbs was not leaving as she found her her view directed toward his shoes.

"You can leave now, Gibbs. I will not swear at Jenny anymore," she promised yet again, hopeful that her reassurance would get him to leave. She was in a rush due to the fact that she could feel Jenny beginning to lower her bottoms to prepare her bare bottom on the other side.

"I know that's what you're promising but I think maybe my staying might help you keep your promise," Gibbs said calmly. He reached over and took one of Ziva's hands in his.

_Why can he not just leave me alone! I do not want him here! I am about to cry - I know I am! - and he is going to see and think that I cannot take a child's punishment from Jenny and he will get angry, thinking I am trying to manipulate her and then he will punish me worse, maybe with a belt this time. I could not handle it. I could not._

A gentle squeeze distracted her from her thoughts.

_He has a nice way of holding my hand, even if I do not want him here. He just spanked me with that hand but now it is so gentle._

_I do not understand Americans._

_Or maybe, all along, it has been that I could not understand __him__...?_

SPANK!

The distraction of Gibbs holding her hand had kept Ziva from noticing that Jenny had finished the preparations for continuing the rather disjointed spanking. It caught Ziva off-guard and she gasped, the rebellious tears immediately springing to the corners of her eyes. She hung her head low, hoping that Gibbs would not be able to see her face if she smushed it against the quilt on her bed.

SPANK!

...

Jenny exchanged a look with Gibbs.

_Do you want me to stay?_ he mouthed to her. They both could tell that Ziva disliked his presence.

Jenny hesitated, then nodded. She did not quite feel up to dealing with another outburst like earlier. She did not expect it but it was better to have reinforcement. Besides, she had felt Ziva's body relax a tiny bit when he took her hand. It might make it easier for Ziva to take the spanking with Gibbs' emotional support although a stranger pairing for that purpose could not be imagined.

Jenny raised the spoon again.

SPANK!

SPANK!

...

Ziva sniffled hard as she squirmed. Jenny was far too good with that spoon. It hurt a lot!

And those darn tears were not disappearing anytime soon.

SPANK! SPANK!

_Not the sit spots._

SPANK! SPANK!

_Yes, she is spanking my sit spots. And ... ow!_

She sniffed hard.

The first two tears had escaped.

Ziva hated them, the traitors!

SPANK!

SPANK!

...

Gibbs' eyes had been locked on Ziva's face from the second that Jenny had pulled her over her knee. The only time that he had looked up was to silently communicate with Jenny. He knew that Ziva was trying to hide from him but it was difficult to hide when he was right next to her. Despite her high pain tolerance he had no doubt that her bottom was hurting her mightily.

That belief was confirmed when his observant eyes spotted a small wet area next to her face when she squirmed yet again.

_She's crying_, he mouthed to Jenny.

Jenny's eyes grew a little more sad but she raised the spoon again.

"No more running away, young lady," she scolded sternly.

SPANK!

SPANK!

...

Ziva gasped at the next spanks. She hated this!

And the tears just kept coming.

_Gibbs will hate me. He will not respect me as an agent anymore. He will be angry. He will probably spank me again even harder!_

But no matter how much she fought against it she could not override the fact that being over Jenny's lap getting a spanking always made her cry. And right now was no exception.

"I ... I will not do it ... again," she whimpered softly.

"What exactly do you mean by 'it'?" Jenny asked, shifting her focus down to Ziva's sit spots.

SPANK!

"Run away!" Ziva gasped before dissolving. She was trying so hard but she could not help her. The next breath she took she would be sobbing.

SPANK!

SPANK!

...

Gibbs looked down at his hand. Ziva had suddenly grasped it in an unconscious reaction to the pain of the spanking. He gently squeezed back. He was still there. He was still with her. He heard the muffled sob, felt her shaking and saw the telltale tear stains.

He loved her and he was not going anywhere.

He looked up at Jenny.

_She can't take anymore._

Jenny met his eyes and nodded.

_I wasn't going to anyway._

She set the spoon aside and reached out for a blanket folded against one of Ziva's pillows. Gibbs reached over with his free hand - no way was he going to let go of Ziva's hand when she so desperately needed to feel loved in this moment - and handed the blanket to Jenny who carefully wrapped it around Ziva in a way that the young lady remained covered and comforted while Jenny lifted her up from her lap and into her arms. Both of them felt their hearts break a little as they saw the red eyes and flushed, wet face.

"It's all over," Jenny assured her. "Your spanking for running away is all done." She kissed Ziva's forehead before cuddling her against her chest.

...

Ziva felt the spanking end but in trying to keep from crying she had no energy to try to pull up her pants and stand. The soft blanket around her provided a more comforting alternative anyway. Within seconds Jenny had her up and held close ... just like Ima had used to do. Ziva looked at her hand - Gibbs was still holding it. He had been there through the entire final part of the spanking. She forced herself to look up, dreading the look of censure that must be waiting. But if she was to be punished she wanted it done now. At least then it would be over. But when she looked up there was no anger, no disappointment, no "just wait until I punish you next" look. Just one of support and ... could it be that look was one of ... love? Love for her, Ziva David?

It was too much.

"Please ... make him go," Ziva whimpered against Jenny.

"Jethro loves you every bit just as much as I do. It's okay to cry in front of him," Jenny murmured back soothingly.

"Please!" Ziva cried desperately.

"I'll go if that's what you need," Gibbs said, standing. He paused for a second and squeezed Ziva's hand. She reluctantly let go and watched as he left. It felt like a tiny part of her heart was leaving with him. She wanted that warm connection in her hand.

But first she needed to cry. And alone and safe with Jenny, she did.

She did not know that Gibbs stood just outside in the hallway, listening to her tears and hoping, praying that somehow she would eventually feel safe enough to trust him in those situations as well.

...

"It is okay, Little One, it is okay, I promise," Jenny comforted Ziva. She had an inkling that Gibbs' presence had made the normally embarrassing (to Ziva) outpouring of emotion even worse than usual for the distraught young lady. Normally Ziva seemed to be able to allow herself to cry by justifying that it was "just Jenny". They had known each other for a long time and although there had been the same number of spankings in the last month as in there entire time knowing one another previously , Ziva seemed able to trust that Jenny was not going to make her tears public or embarrassing.

Jenny silently hoped that she had not messed things up for Ziva's journey into the realm of loving discipline. She had wanted Ziva to realize that Gibbs was not going to judge her for having feelings, but now she was concerned that maybe she had pushed too hard too fast.

...

Ziva let her body relax into the tears and crying when she was convinced that Gibbs had gone back downstairs. Somehow the tears really _did_ help make her feel better. Her bottom was still stinging and she knew that it was going to keep doing so quite unpleasantly - this had been a very long and difficult spanking to receive. But Jenny had promised that it was over and with Gibbs gone it was safe to cry.

Although apparently a few tears in front of him were okay too.

Still, no need for it to happen again.

Ever.

...

**Thank you for reading! I hope that you all are well. Stay safe and in the sunshine when possible! Hugs from afar! **


	43. Chapter 43 - Stinging, Sadness, And Bets

**Good evening, everyone! **

**I am sorry that I have been so long in updating. I have had a hard time finding the motivation to write and update. I haven't given up on this story. I'm just struggling at the moment so updates will be sporadic. I'll see if getting back to university helps regulate my writing schedule a little better. I'm so sorry for the delays. Please try to understand. :) **

**Thanks to fiftyshadeswritergal for helping encourage and previewing this chapter. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter - FeebleFluffyFan, Ludy, Jolie71, DS2010, Fan, KrisShannon, Sarai, Loads of Randomness, Troubled-Angel-26, Queenofwheels. **

**Enjoy! **

**Warning: Spanking in this chapter. **

**...**

Ziva was not in a particularly good mood. A crash from downstairs had just woken her up from her nap that had only lasted fifteen minutes - not nearly long enough to reduce the bad mood. She rolled over and winced as her bottom was pressed against the mattress.

"Ouch," she whined unhappily to herself, pushing herself in a precarious sitting position above a fluffy pillow. She reached back and began to rub. She was not sure if it was helping or just making the whole situation worse.

_This still stings a lot. And ... it's not over yet!_

She flopped down onto her bed, ignoring the increased sting. This was going to be nothing compared to the bedtime spanking that she knew was coming.

"Why did I have to get in too much trouble?" she grumbled aloud.

...

Jenny had been taking towels into the bathroom when she heard the low voice in Ziva's room. She had left the door slightly open when she left after soothing Ziva to sleep and now she went to the crack to listen to what Ziva was saying. When she heard she rubbed her forehead.

_Why indeed?_

...

"Ziva's taking this hard," Jenny said softly, walking up behind Gibbs in the kitchen and wrapping her arms around him.

Gibbs was a little surprised but he did not move away. Instead he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"What's she doing?" he asked.

"Trying to get rid of the sting and lamenting her abundance of trouble," Jenny reported. Gibbs turned and gently hugged her.

"It's only today. She'll be okay, Jen. It's just an afternoon of being grounded. We'll get her to bed early, get the spanking over with, and then everything will be taken care of."

Jenny huffed. "That's not exactly going to make the rest of the day go well for her. She's already upset over the first spanking - or spankings. She's not going to look forward to the next one."

Gibbs stepped back and looked her in the eyes. "Jen, it'll be okay. She might not like this - no one would - but it isn't that harsh, really. Her spanking tonight won't be as hard. I don't think she'd try acting out like that again. And you won't have to do anything, Jen. I'll be handling the spanking. If you want, you can help comfort but ..."

"If I want? And 'help comfort but'?!" Jenny protested, frowning fiercely. "Jethro, if you think that I would leave her alone to be disciplined than you don't know me."

Gibbs held up his hands appeasingly, like he would if trying to talk down a shooter in a volatile situation. "Didn't say that you were going to leave. Just trying to say that you can take care of the loving part instead of the spanking part."

"Isn't the spanking supposed to be love too?" Jenny demanded, still not impressed.

"Of course. But isn't giving her a hug more enjoyable than giving her swats with the spoon?" Gibbs asked bluntly.

"Yes," Jenny said, finally cracking a small smile. "But Jethro? For the record? I would never want you to have to do all the discipline. We'll have to work on figuring out what will be the right balance for when she goes back to work, but she needs it from both of us - mother and father figures, on the same page, with the same love for her."

"When she is ready, we'll need to have a talk about it," Gibbs agreed. "Until then, we'll just have to make the choices and hope that if something isn't working that Ziva will speak up or that we'll be able to tell."

"Messing her up a second time is one of my biggest fears," Jenny admitted softly.

"I know, Jen. Trust me - I know."

...

Ziva finally scooted off of her pillow throne and after a small stretch that ended in a wince, she headed down the stairs. There were Gibbs and Jenny, talking in that way that they had been doing so much more often as of late. Ziva was not exactly sure if she liked it. When they spoke like that, her hopes of wheedling Jenny into going against Gibbs or convincing Gibbs that being disrespectful to Jenny was unimportant? They went straight out the window ... like she was not allowed to do on threat of a sore bottom like the one she was enduring right now.

Life was not fair.

But seeing the two people she admired teaming up with loving her? That was ... kind of nice.

...

"Do you want to play a card game with us?" Jenny asked Ziva, who was curled up miserably on the couch, sighing loudly on a schedule of every two minutes on the dot. Ziva's eyes were fixed on a clock so she had a little help with the timing but the sentiment was not forced. Every two minutes was another two minutes closer to her next spanking - another spanking that she had no interest in receiving! A game of cards might distract her from her task of unobtrusively reminding Gibbs how unreasonable and unfair and heavy handed he was (literally) being about punishing her when she already so obviously felt badly about it! But then, it might also distract her from the fact that measuring off the hours by two minute intervals was hard work and sort of depressing as she realized the steady trot of time.

"I guess, since I have nothing better to do," Ziva said pointedly, glaring a little in Gibbs' direction. She did not dare glare like that directly at him - she did not like the idea of making eye contact with him while acting a little ... bratty. But still - her point needed to be made. This was absolutely unnecessary and absolutely unfair.

"That's the spirit," Jenny said brightly. "You really can't do any better than a good game of cards."

"Not what I meant," Ziva grumbled.

"Do you want a chance to explain what you did mean or should I just deal the cards before you can talk your way into another spot of trouble?" Jenny asked, calmly making eye contact and holding it. In that moment, Ziva knew that she was not going to win. The tingling reminders in her bottom kept her from fighting it any longer.

"I'll deal," Jenny supplied after an unintentional moment of silence.

"Okay," Ziva conceded. She accepted the cards that Jenny slid across the table in her direction.

"Jethro, do you want to join us?"

"Sure."

Should I decide not to play since he is part of it now? That would make a statement - but then they might continue playing and having fun and I would be left by myself without anything fun to do. Oh, and maybe if I play it will do something to Gibbs' head. Maybe it will get him into a good mood - one where he won't feel like punishing me for something from so far long ago as yesterday.

"I will still play, even if he does," she offered generously. It was only when Gibbs and Jenny gave her identical, stern, unamused looks that she realized that she had just said what before she had only thought. She coloured a little, then peeked at her cards, using their presence as a small shield against any follow-up questions. "As I am obviously the youngest, does that mean that I get to go first?" she asked.

Looking up she could see two more frowns, but at least they were attempts to hide amusement at her cheekiness.

"Go ahead," Gibbs motioned to her.

Ziva was finally able to smile proudly. As little as it might be, she had won at least one thing today.

And if she could get through the game while sitting on the wooden chair, maybe she would be able to win two things.

And that gave her an idea...

"How about we bet? If I win, you will not punish me anymore and ..."

"Not gonna happen, Ziva," Gibbs cut her off effectively. "You will be getting a spanking tonight at bedtime. If you want to pout about it, go to the living room. If you want to play, play."

Ziva started to roll her eyes, which was greeted by a small swat to her thigh by Jenny.

"Ow..."

"That did not hurt," Jenny scolded softly. "Now did it?"

"No..."

"But if you keep rolling your eyes it will."

Ziva shifted back and forth a little.

"Is that understood?"

Ziva looked down at her lap, unhappy.

"I said, is that understood?"

"Answer her, Ziva."

"Fine. Yes, I understand," she huffed.

"Ziva!"

I have never wanted to roll my eyes more than I do at this moment but ...

"I ... understand," she said in a more appropriately repentant tone. It was not exactly how she felt but she knew that it was what was expected of her. And as much as Jenny had said that small swat on her thigh had not hurt - and it had not hurt much - Ziva was not willing to risk another to make the tiny, sudden sting grow into anything larger.

...

_She's faking_, Jenny thought, looking at Ziva's face. There were the schooled features in what was a textbook display of repentance ... but the little tics that so often appeared when she was actually repentant. She hated to admit that she was sorry or wrong and her eyes would twitch a little. But then, there was not a whole lot that she could do to call Ziva out on it. What would she say? "You're lying about understanding"? It would not exactly be very conducive.

"Okay. Let's play," Jenny said, switching her tone to encouraging. "As you are so obviously the youngest, why don't you have any cards on the table?"

...

Ziva was shocked out of her annoyance resurgence by the light and teasing tone.

"Um ... okay. I will, once I get a chance to look at my cards," she grumbled, but this time it was more good-natured as well.

"I'll bet you chocolate chips," Gibbs said lightly. Ziva looked up and tried to decide if he was mocking her or if he was really willing to play.

"Show me the chips before we play," she demanded with a mischievous smile returning to her face.

...

**Thank you, people, for reading and being patient. :D I appreciate it! **

**Hugs from afar. Hold in there! **

**MM**


	44. Chapter 44 - Three in a Row

**Hello! **

**I'm back at last. :D **

**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, starting with ladyaloysius who seems to have recently joined us. :) Thanks for all the reviews! Thanks to Sarai, Dawn248, DS2010, Loads of Randomness, Troubled-Angel-26, Queenofwheels, Ludy, quintawrites, and KrisShannon. By the way, the lovely fiftyshadeswritergal is now the equally as lovely quintawrites. :D Don't worry - she's still writing! ;) Watch her stories - she's starting some new amazing ones that I know you'll love! **

**Warning: spanking in this chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

**...**

Ziva won the game and savored every chocolate chip that she won - five times in a row. Time was skipping past now. Although she was enjoying herself on the surface, she was still nervous about the upcoming bedtime spanking. By the end of the fifth round and the final chocolate chip, her stomach was too tied up in knots to continue.

"Up for a final round?" Gibbs asked.

"Not really," she muttered.

Gibbs and Jenny exchanged a look, then shuffled the cards and put them back into the case. Jenny stood.

"I think that I'll get a start on supper. Ziva, how about you go upstairs and get ready for bed."

Ziva paled a little at those directions but stood and headed toward the stairs reluctantly.

"I am not very hungry," she mumbled.

"That's okay," Jenny said softly. "But I do want for you to get something at least. And we'd like you to eat it down here with us. When you're ready, come on down."

Ziva nodded - her throat felt a little tight and talking did not seem like a fun option. She went to her room, then decided that she would shower. But there was only so long that she could spend on shampooing - and besides, Gibbs' hot water heater was not large. The water would go too cold for it to be an enjoyable hiding spot for more than ten minutes. She did not want to get changed into her pajamas, but a check in her drawers left her without any other options.

"I need to do laundry," she grumbled. She frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Of course the only pajamas that she had left clean were the ones with the ladybug on the shirt.

"Just when I am most wanting to look serious, I have to have these old pajamas," she whined to her mirror self.

"Ziver, if you're ready, come on down," Gibbs called up the stairs.

I am not ready but I am not hearing much room for negotiation in his voice.

She gave the ladybug a final vicious scowl and then marched down the stairs.

"Cute pajamas," Jenny said with a gentle smile in her direction.

"I hate them," Ziva grumped.

"That's too bad. The colour is good on you, the ladybug is a sweet touch, and they look comfortable," Jenny observed, putting the final plates of food onto the table and then motioning for Gibbs and Ziva to take their seats.

"I do not care about how colours look on me, ladybugs are dumb, and I do not want to be comfortable," Ziva snapped back.

"Well, you won't be comfortable for too long if you are talking like that," Gibbs said in a foreboding tone. "Do we need to go downstairs for a minute before supper, Ziva, or are you going to behave yourself?"

Ziva did not like the lack of options. Either behave or be spanked? Where was the choice? She sat down huffily in her chair and internally winced as she remembered why doing that might not have been such a great idea.

"Ziva?" Gibbs prompted, still standing and waiting for her response.

"Behave," she answered in a sad mutter.

"Good," he said softly, sitting down across from her and sharing a small smile. He said the grace over the meal and Jenny served. Ziva ate automatically but she did not enjoy it.

As soon as she finished she stood and quickly began to gather the dishes.

"I will wash," she offered instantly. "And I will dry as well. And put away. And clean the kitchen."

Jenny and Gibbs exchanged a look. Gibbs gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head and Jenny reached out and stopped Ziva.

"Honey, I think it would be better for you to go brush your teeth and do whatever else you need to in order to get ready for bed.

"Not tired yet," Ziva protested but it came out as more of a whimper.

Jenny gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and encouraging smile.

"Go on, Little One. Let's just get it over with, hmm?"

Ziva gave Jenny an incredulous face.

"I think I would prefer doing the dishes," she argued quietly, refusing to look up at Gibbs who was standing. She saw him from the corner of her eye. He reached out and took her hand.

"Jenny!" Ziva squeaked in a final plea but Jenny shook her head gently and let go of Ziva's hand after a final warm squeeze.

"Come on, Zi. Let's go on upstairs," Gibbs said, leading her.

Ziva followed, slowly enough that the tug on her hand was needed to keep her moving forward.

"It won't be that bad," Gibbs said, patting her back and leading her to the bed quickly. "Come on, Ziva, let's get it over with since it has to be done."

"Why?" Ziva whined. Forget being tough! She did not want her third spanking of the day!

"Because you disobeyed and earned it," Gibbs said unflappably. Ziva glared, then purposefully softened her face. She did not quite know how to do puppy dog eyes like Abby ... but she could pull off quite a convincing sad face.

"I already learned my lesson," she said morosely. She was just a few hard blinks away from fake crying. Or maybe it would not have been so very fake after all. She would not know as Gibbs did not have patience for a few hard blinks once he realized that there was a sympathy act being performed for his benefit.

"You'll learn it again," he replied firmly, taking her hands and guiding her to stand in front of him. "Why are you about to get another spanking, Ziva Jennifer Leigh?"

Questions and more questions - why did Jenny and Gibbs has this fixation on repeatedly asking stupid questions like that would result in her being better behaved in the future! It would not - she was sure of it. She would make sure to be bad in the future just to disprove their foolish notions.

But not answering earlier had resulted in extra spanks so ...

"I left the house during a grounding. But, Gibbs, I only went ..."

"The only way I like 'but' in a confession is if you are bending over so I can warm up that part of you to make sure the mistake doesn't happen again," Gibbs said firmly. "Now, it's time for you to do just that. C'mon, Ziva, over my lap."

Ziva considered protesting some more ... but it took too long. While she was considering Gibbs took over. In less than twenty seconds she was secured with only her panties between her bottom and Gibbs' heavy hand.

"Why did you take down my pants?" she protested quickly. "I did not swear or do anything wrong. I just did not want a spanking!" She reached back, trying to find the waistband. She needed that extra bit of protection!

"Ziva, they stay down," Gibbs said firmly, moving her hands back around to the front calmly. "This spanking is going to start on your underwear."

"But ...!"

"Sometimes that becomes necessary when you behave badly again and again. Really, you should have received two spankings for what you did last night. That's why this spanking is going to be a little stronger than what you would normally get for breaking a grounding. Although if that happens again, you will not enjoy that spanking any more than this one. Do you understand, young lady?"

Ziva made a growling sound in the back of her throat.

"I said, is that understood, young lady?"

Oh, how she hated that steely tone!

"Yes!" she snarled like a feral cat. Gibb's only answer was to raise his hand and bring it down as a hard SMACK!

_Oww!_

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

"You do not break your grounding," he said calmly, raising his hand once again. Ziva felt her bottom burning. Her bottom had barely stopped constantly stinging from the hard spanking earlier. Now it was back to full-sting potential.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

She began to wriggle. The sting was getting unbearable.

"When I tell you to do - or not do - something, you need to obey," Gibbs stated, tightening his hold on her waist to prevent her from wiggling away.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

The tears began to prickle her eyes. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly and kicked against the pain. Gibbs knew exactly where to smack to make the most of a spanking. She whimpered slightly.

It did nothing to stop Gibbs.

"We need an attitude change from you, Ziva, and it would be in your best interest to change it now before you get in worse trouble."

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

"I ... I will!" Ziva half-sobbed. She managed to keep from crying tears but the sadness still got into her voice.

"Good," Gibbs answered. He tilted her forward on his knee to get a better angle on her sit spots.

"Please do not do that!" Ziva gasped through her pain.

Her little sob touched Gibbs' heart which was not naturally as hard as he had to make it to get through chastising his kid. Still, he guessed that the kindest thing that he could do was to continue the spanking and finish it as quickly as possible.

But first ...

He gently patted her back twice, then moved back to the waiting sit spots with a much less-gentle force to his hand.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

"AUGH!" Ziva finally felt the cry torn from her lips as the pain spilled over from bad to unbearable. Her gasps were deep and a little tearful.

And the moment that she let out the one strangled sob, Gibbs had tugged her pajama pants up over her bottom and lifted her into his arms. She arched her back a little from the pain but the immediate cuddle calmed her down a little. Oh, it hurt soooooooo much! But the gentle rubbing on her back and slight rocking helped calming her down a little. She gasped for breath until the very strongest sting in her sit spots faded enough for her to think straight.

At which time she squirmed away from Gibbs and glared at him, her hands going back toward her bottom.

"No," Gibbs said firmly.

Ziva sent him a teary glare but not wanting any more swats, she moved her hands away although she was clenching her hands as a feeble attempt to shake off the pain that was over-stimulating her system.

"Good girl," he said softly, taking on of her clenched hands and giving it a gentle squeeze. He could feel her fist begin to relax a little, then she pulled her hand away from him and gave an unhappy sniffle.

"You sp... punished me. Please, just leave me alone so that I can go to bed."

"Zi..."

"You said you would punish me before bed. Now please leave me so that I can go to bed," Ziva whimpered, pulling away.

Gibbs let her pull away. Forcing contact would only result in a stressed and angry Ziva. He slowly stood and began to make his way to the door.

"I love you, Ziva," he said softly. When he got to the door he turned around and asked, "Do you want Jenny to come up?"

There was no answer.

"Okay," he said simply. He knew.

He went downstairs and nodded to Jenny wearily.

"She needs you."

"Not you?" Jenny asked sadly.

Gibbs gave a sad half-smile.

"Not today."

...

**Thanks for reading!**


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